Recommended 80s X Book Runs and other X-Questions

[Sain]

As the title says, anyone have any? I find myself going backwards when reading XMEN lately because the current lines, for the most part, are a turnoff. I'm reading The OG New Mutants which i am loving, and every since reading 88's She Hulk a few months ago I fell in love with John Byrne's art. I see from time to time that his name is brought up in drawing xmen back then too, so any of his books are welcome too.

Also, while I'm here. Anyone wonder why they continutally update certain character costumes while others stay wildly dated? For instance Magneto, Havok, and Jubilee. I'm pretty much over their current looks which aren't really brought with a new spin. X characters are all about personality when it comes to suits, so I understand, but this is diffrent. It almost seems liek they are scared and run back to default.

Also Also, are there any XMEN costume charts/infographics other than wolverine? It would be awesome if there was a dedicated site or person that made X-Evolution infographics.

[SchismOfMadroces]

http://www.uncannyxmen.net has character spotlights that feature costume progressions. I haven't been there in ages, so I don't know how current they are, though.

[CRaymond]

Here’s a fairly innocuous question:

1. What was the circumstance that drove the X-Men to choose to relocate to the Australian Outback?

[pandafarmer]

I've been re-reading the entire X-Book run this year and I can put together a nice "layman's" overview. Sadly don't have the time right now, but watch for something hopefully today or Monday.

As for costumes, I think that they sometimes get burned when they go too out of the box with costumes. New Mutants is actually a great example. Whenever they tried to give us something different than the training unis, it didn't go well. Heck, Magik only just recently got a more permanent option and then they go and throw her back in the old school look for Dead Souls.

[Rover]

I think the most important X-book of the 80s would be Uncanny X-Men with arcs like the Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, and crossovers like Secret Wars, Inferno, Mutant Massacre and Fall of the Mutants in the late 80s. Byrne worked worked on Dark Phoenix and Days of Future Past.

The 80s also had Classic X-Men reprinting older stories with some pages from Uncanny added for continuity. This could be interesting if you want to read all the older stuff.

I personally love X-Factor that started in the 80s and highly recommend it. And if you're a Wolverine fan, his first limited series was in the early 80s and it was relaunched at the end of the 80s. I also remember reading a limited Nightcrawler series from the mid-80s. I thought it was fun but might not be interesting unless you're a fan of the character.

If you want more stuff from John Bryne, I think he worked on Alpha Flight during the 80s. I've never checked it out so I don't know if it's good or not.

This page has a really good summary of all the important events, Claremont's work on the X-books during the 80s, and info about when new characters appeared: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/comics/xboo...section-4.html

Also, while I'm here. Anyone wonder why they continutally update certain character costumes while others stay wildly dated? For instance Magneto, Havok, and Jubilee. I'm pretty much over their current looks which aren't really brought with a new spin. X characters are all about personality when it comes to suits, so I understand, but this is different. It almost seems liek they are scared and run back to default.

Also Also, are there any XMEN costume charts/infographics other than wolverine? It would be awesome if there was a dedicated site or person that made X-Evolution infographics.

I think the costume has to do with how much of a part the costume has in making the character recognizable. Facial features change a lot from one artist to another so they can't always expect readers to recognize characters based on this. The more unique a character design is, the easier it is to create a new costume for them.

Some characters can go through costumes and even wear normal clothes and still be recognizable because of really unique character design. I'm thinking about Mystique's skin, Wolverine's hair, and claws Bishop's tattoo or even Cyclops' visor. On the other hand, characters like Jubilee, Magneto, Kitty Pryde, etc don't have any characteristics that 'jump out' at the reader other than their costume. I'm not saying they shouldn't update the costumes, I'm saying it's a lot trickier to change a costume when it's the main element of the character design.

[Cyke is Slim]

80's X-Factor by Louise Simonson, highly recommended. The X-Factor issues in Fall of the Mutants featured the best villain in Apocalypse, the Jean/Scott stuff is legendary and this run made the O5 work really well. Plus the drama involving Cyke is sooo good!

[Uncanny X-Man]

Frankly I wouldn’t start from Giant-Sized X-Men 1 and take it from there. The beauty of Claremont’s original run is that it’s one big soap-opera lasting all the way to the early 1990’s and spanning multiple books, so you might as well start at the beginning to fully enjoy it in all its complexity.

And if you liked John Byrne’s She-Hulk, you’re in for quite a treat with his Uncanny X-Men run, which is in my opinion the best his art has ever been. I very much enjoy his later stuff as well, but after ascending to stardom he quickly spread himself quite thin across multiple titles and gradually started becoming more cartoony in his style, which I still liked mind you, but I think nothing beats his X-Men run.

[Sain]

http://www.uncannyxmen.net has character spotlights that feature costume progressions. I haven't been there in ages, so I don't know how current they are, though.

I don't see the costume progressions, but otherwise it does look like a valuable resource!

I've been re-reading the entire X-Book run this year and I can put together a nice "layman's" overview. Sadly don't have the time right now, but watch for something hopefully today or Monday.

As for costumes, I think that they sometimes get burned when they go too out of the box with costumes. New Mutants is actually a great example. Whenever they tried to give us something different than the training unis, it didn't go well. Heck, Magik only just recently got a more permanent option and then they go and throw her back in the old school look for Dead Souls.

*rubs hands* Oo, I will stay tuned for sure.

Well as far as the New Mutants go, I love their training unis as their representation.

I think the most important X-book of the 80s would be Uncanny X-Men with arcs like the Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, and crossovers like Secret Wars, Inferno, Mutant Massacre and Fall of the Mutants in the late 80s. Byrne worked worked on Dark Phoenix and Days of Future Past.

The 80s also had Classic X-Men reprinting older stories with some pages from Uncanny added for continuity. This could be interesting if you want to read all the older stuff.

I personally love X-Factor that started in the 80s and highly recommend it. And if you're a Wolverine fan, his first limited series was in the early 80s and it was relaunched at the end of the 80s. I also remember reading a limited Nightcrawler series from the mid-80s. I thought it was fun but might not be interesting unless you're a fan of the character.

If you want more stuff from John Bryne, I think he worked on Alpha Flight during the 80s. I've never checked it out so I don't know if it's good or not.

This page has a really good summary of all the important events, Claremont's work on the X-books during the 80s, and info about when new characters appeared: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/comics/xboo...section-4.html




I think the costume has to do with how much of a part the costume has in making the character recognizable. Facial features change a lot from one artist to another so they can't always expect readers to recognize characters based on this. The more unique a character design is, the easier it is to create a new costume for them.

Some characters can go through costumes and even wear normal clothes and still be recognizable because of really unique character design. I'm thinking about Mystique's skin, Wolverine's hair, and claws Bishop's tattoo or even Cyclops' visor. On the other hand, characters like Jubilee, Magneto, Kitty Pryde, etc don't have any characteristics that 'jump out' at the reader other than their costume. I'm not saying they shouldn't update the costumes, I'm saying it's a lot trickier to change a costume when it's the main element of the character design.

While I'm tired of seeing wolverine at this point in time, it should be refreshing going back in time to see him. I (as well as many) used to love him as a kid.

That's a good point on the faces changing with each hand that draws them, forgot about that consideration. I'm not asking for anything drastic though, just more playfulness with color distribution and a bit of adding and subracting. For as long as I can remember I never liked that silly head piece Havok wears, and I am just barely getting used to his chest target design. I always loved his less exaggerated Jacket Havok with the face cowl. Jubilee's yellow is too much for my eye's now adays lol, but shorten the jacket or keep what I call the pink "prism glasses" and make the Jacket green with a black tee under. Takeaway the fast forward symbol off of Pietro's chest, it looks ridiculous. I can go on, but you probably see where i'm going.

80's X-Factor by Louise Simonson, highly recommended. The X-Factor issues in Fall of the Mutants featured the best villain in Apocalypse, the Jean/Scott stuff is legendary and this run made the O5 work really well. Plus the drama involving Cyke is sooo good!

Noted, gracias! Your enthusiasm has me excited.

[Rover]

While I'm tired of seeing wolverine at this point in time, it should be refreshing going back in time to see him. I (as well as many) used to love him as a kid.

To be fair, the 80s Wolverine is extremely different from the Wolverine we have today. I recommend the 82 limited series because it really brought a depth to the character that you won't find in his more recent runs (with a few exceptions), and setting the story in Japan really brought something new to the X-book imo. But 80s Uncanny and X-Factor are definitely must-read, so Wolverine doesn't have to be your priority

That's a good point on the faces changing with each hand that draws them, forgot about that consideration. I'm not asking for anything drastic though, just more playfulness with color distribution and a bit of adding and subracting. For as long as I can remember I never liked that silly head piece Havok wears, and I am just barely getting used to his chest target design. I always loved his less exaggerated Jacket Havok with the face cowl. Jubilee's yellow is too much for my eye's now adays lol, but shorten the jacket or keep what I call the pink "prism glasses" and make the Jacket green with a black tee under. Takeaway the fast forward symbol off of Pietro's chest, it looks ridiculous. I can go on, but you probably see where i'm going.

I love your idea for an updated Jubilee costume! I never got the point of Havoc's head piece..he doesn't even use it to channel his power or anything. But I think a part of reading comics is that you have to go along with the silly costumes.

[Sain]

To be fair, the 80s Wolverine is extremely different from the Wolverine we have today. I recommend the 82 limited series because it really brought a depth to the character that you won't find in his more recent runs (with a few exceptions), and setting the story in Japan really brought something new to the X-book imo. But 80s Uncanny and X-Factor are definitely must-read, so Wolverine doesn't have to be your priority X-Factor is ringing the loudest so far, I shall hunt this down.


I love your idea for an updated Jubilee costume! I never got the point of Havoc's head piece..he doesn't even use it to channel his power or anything. But I think a part of reading comics is that you have to go along with the silly costumes.

Thank you! There is a dedicated mall/closet in my brain for characters to go to. Thank goodness you confirmed my suspicion that he can't even utilize the head piece for some practicality in relation to him. That solidifies it, it HAS to go. Oh for sure, going along with silly costumes is a given. I'm reading older comics now afterall, so I'm proper prepared, lol. My issue isn't neceissarily dealing with "silly" but "dated". It's so weird seeing characters with new desings, or updates, and then some characters are quite literally unchanged. I also understand the "if aint broke" modow, but it's like they're stuck in time and/or pandering to a certain audience.

[Rover]

Thank you! There is a dedicated mall/closet in my brain for characters to go to. Thank goodness you confirmed my suspicion that he can't even utilize the head piece for some practicality in relation to him. That solidifies it, it HAS to go. Oh for sure, going along with silly costumes is a given. I'm reading older comics now afterall, so I'm proper prepared, lol. My issue isn't neceissarily dealing with "silly" but "dated". It's so weird seeing characters with new desings, or updates, and then some characters are quite literally unchanged. I also understand the "if aint broke" modow, but it's like they're stuck in time and/or pandering to a certain audience.

The thing about Havoc is he did get an awesome costume upgrade. I think at the beginning of the Claremont run? The weird head piece disappeared and he got the half balaclava thing (kind of like what Gambit wears). You'll see it if you read X-Factor. He got another major redesign later in Avengers Vs X-Men (something that looks more like Cyke's costume but with white lines on his head to represent the design of the original head piece). And then they brought back the original clunky head piece I think in Astonishing X-Men.

If you're interested in costume designs, check out these variant covers that show the progression for some of the main characters: http://www.tencentticker.com/project...ume-cavalcade/

[Sain]

The thing about Havoc is he did get an awesome costume upgrade. I think at the beginning of the Claremont run? The weird head piece disappeared and he got the half balaclava thing (kind of like what Gambit wears). You'll see it if you read X-Factor. He got another major redesign later in Avengers Vs X-Men (something that looks more like Cyke's costume but with white lines on his head to represent the design of the original head piece). And then they brought back the original clunky head piece I think in Astonishing X-Men.

If you're interested in costume designs, check out these variant covers that show the progression for some of the main characters: http://www.tencentticker.com/project...ume-cavalcade/

The one you're talking about with the gambit 'cowl' the one I like, but I still prefer a different direction.

That link helps, thanks!

[pandafarmer]

Okay, so sorry for the delay. Was super busy this weekend. Now keep in mind that I'm hardly an expert here, and am using Marvel Unlimited as my guide. I've read through this entire batch of stuff just this summer, but believe me that there is so much crazy stuff that happens that I likely am missing some details that others can fill in. Also keep in mind that this is just for the "80's" with a touch of 70's stuff for intro. Also goes without saying that you should read the annuals that were released in these same eras. Not always related to the main storyline, but typically there are some key character development moments that happen within them. I also did not include the "Wolverine" side books, as they would require a whole mess of additional info IMO.

Giant Sized X-Men – 1975 – Arguably the best place to start for “modern era” X-Men because it’s the start of the original Claremont run. If you need a catch up for the OG 5, I recommend looking at X-Men Grand Design or the X-Men “Season One” Graphic Novel.

Uncanny 100-106 – This is where we see Jean’s struggles begin as Phoenix.

Uncanny 125-138 – This chunk of books is really important as you meet Hellfire Club, Dazzler, Kitty, and the Dark Phoenix Saga. All are important to the future of the book and well worth reading.

Uncanny 139-166 // Avengers Annual 10 // God Loves Man Kills Graphic Novel // “Marvel Graphic Novel #4 (New Mutants)” – Kitty joins the X-Men, which in the New Mutants world is important as she remains a huge influence to them through the years. Also where Days of Future Past happens, and we meet Rogue, the “New Brotherhood / Freedom Force,” The Brood, and The Starjammers.

New Mutants 1-12 // Uncanny 167-179 // – The New Mutants stories aren’t very impactful but good to read for motivations and character development and helps to follow the Uncanny stories where the Morlocks play a huge role. Rogue becomes an X-Man and follows Wolverine to Japan.

Magik 1-4 – Seems like an unimportant mini-series but is essential reading. What happens here is referenced often in future books even through today.

New Mutants 13-34 // Uncanny 180-199 // Secret World limited series // New Mutants Special Edition Vol 1 - New Mutants starts really getting entertaining and features some of the best artwork of the series. Demon Bear Saga and deeper conflicts with the Hellions happen here and the introductions Illyanna, Doug, and Warlock are all in here. X-Men sees Storm losing her powers and getting her iconic “punk” look, Rogue’s slow acceptance into the team, the impacts of the original Secret Wars, and the introduction of Rachel Summers.

New Mutants 35-48 // Uncanny 200-214 // X-Factor 1-11 // Secret Wars 2 limited series – Magneto’s Trial and aftermath, X-Factor is formed, the New Mutants and Hellion rivalry peaks, and the introduction of Apocalypse, Nimrod, and Legion happen here. Most notably the Mutant Massacre happens here and is the first real major New Mutants and X-Men crossover event. Some great storytelling in this batch.

New Mutants 48-61 // Uncanny 214-234 // X-Factor 11-26 // Fallen Angels 1-6 // X-Terminators 1-4 – The Fall of the Mutants happens here. Dazzler, Havok, Longshot, and Betsy join the X-Men and the team goes into hiding in the Outback. We meet Jubilee, Rusty, Skids, Rictor, Boom Boom, and the Fallen Angels. Don’t even get us started on Birdbrain.

Excalibur 1-8 (and the “Sword Is Drawn” introduction) // New Mutants 62-74 // Uncanny 235-224 // X-Factor 26-40 – The X-Terminators join the New Mutants and everyone thinks the X-Men are dead. Magik ramps up the scary and eventually the Inferno event comes along. One of the more interesting crossover events as so much is going on. X-Men vs X-Factor is a highlight there. Excalibur is the next major spin off and features Rachel, Kitty, and Nightcrawler in their adventures in the UK. The early part of this series is excellent and beautifully drawn and well worth reading.

New Mutants 75-100 // Uncanny 225-280 // X-Factor 40-70 // Excalibur 9-34 – X-Tinction Agenda and Muir Island Saga happens here. We meet Gambit, Cable, Domino, and Deadpool. Important era as Genosha starts becoming a regular topic/setting for the books. Excalibur go through the Cross-Time Caper and this ends Claremont’s run with the book.

X-Force 1 // X-Men 1 // Uncanny 281 // X-Factor 71 // Generation X 1– This is really the start of the “90’s” era X-Men books and would need it’s own thread. Once here, read the two X-Men titles together as there is a ton of crossover and often times you see characters shared with each book. X-Force eventually starts bleeding into the other X-lines the same way and is worth reading alongside the other two books. IMO X-Factor is much different in tone but is a fun read. Rarely do we see the teams interact so it’s not essential reading, but many adore this team and see is as worth keeping up with. Generation X comes along and becomes a bit of a “New Mutants” homage.

[Kuwagaton]

Aside from 1982's Wolverine, there is more Claremont in his 1988 series, as well as a follow up arc written and drawn by Byrne. Larry Hama and Peter David also had some great stories to take the whole thing into the 90s.

Here’s a fairly innocuous question:

1. What was the circumstance that drove the X-Men to choose to relocate to the Australian Outback?

That plays out in Fall of the Mutants, which has its own trade. I think it's my favorite Uncanny arc. It might not be bad to go in cold, but the subplots that built in went for about 20 or 30 issues prior. The epic collection, "The Gift" and the Mutant Massacre storylines are ideal prerequisites.

[Triniking1234]

Here’s a fairly innocuous question:

1. What was the circumstance that drove the X-Men to choose to relocate to the Australian Outback?

The Fall of the Mutants storyline. Good stuff and it leads into my favourite story-arc: Inferno.