First time reading Claremont’s run...

[Criticalfan]

I appreciate how you put all that. I was thinking of what I remember the art looking some ways down the issue numbers, particularly when Inferno happens (and I’ve never read those, just remember the general feel of the cover art. The pencils were scratchier, if I could say it that way) but I couldn’t say the art was worse, just different. Still though, Byrne and the color guy, are killing it with everything.

FYI, the "color guy" was a woman.

[Criticalfan]

its such a shame that the current sales climate of the industry doesn't really allow for long-term storytelling like Claremont was giving us. With unsustained sales and relaunches left right and centre no one feels they have that kind of time to invest into these stories on both sides of the fence, readers and writers alike. not sure where im going with this or even how related it is to the topic. It just makes me a bit sad to reflect on the truly amazing work put into developing the stories that built up the franchise and how that same level of work isn't sustainable anymore

Whether it fits or not I feel the same way. A lot of us do. Ahem.

@cracksh0t are you listening?

[Su_Whisterfield]

Welcome back! I kind of had the same thing happen. In the 90's I dropped out but as a Buffy fan I had to check out what the Wheadon run was about which got me into the Morrison run and House of M. Then I had to drop out because I was broke AF and couldn't justify reading multiple comic books. I came back a couple of years ago by accident and then spent about a year+ re-reading everything from Giant-Sized forward so I could understand what they heck was going on.

Marvel Unlimited is a boon. I’m off work after treatment for cancer, so I started writing fanfic to keep me occupied* and I’ve been using Unlimited to catch up with characters I haven’t even thought about for decades.

*if anyone asks, it’s ‘creative writing’ not pr0n!

[Su_Whisterfield]

FYI, the "color guy" was a woman.

Wasn’t it Glynis? We had the same colourist and lettering bods for years (yes I could Google, but that’s cheating).

[Sparko]

Marvel Unlimited is a boon. I’m off work after treatment for cancer, so I started writing fanfic to keep me occupied* and I’ve been using Unlimited to catch up with characters I haven’t even thought about for decades.

*if anyone asks, it’s ‘creative writing’ not pr0n!

You and me are in a similar boat then, friend! Non-Hodgkin lymphoma for me and I’m kicking it’s ass. And I won’t kid, cancer has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I wish you well. Appreciate your coming out with this news here. It holds a place in me now. There are many of us. But you sound good. I feel it in the writing. Thank you for being a survivor!

[Sparko]

FYI, the "color guy" was a woman.

Boom! What a beautiful thing!

I recently saw the Chris Claremont X-Men documentary that’s on Amazon Prime and was blown away by the support Chris got from Louise Simonsen and Ann Nocenti. If you haven’t seen it, it’s really worth a watch.

[Sparko]

And I’m onto 137.

Wow. Just amazing.

[Sparko]

It'll be even more interesting to see how OP goes into the 90's books from here. I feel like born and raised Claremont fans had a rough time during this era. I know I personally felt like my beloved complicated friends were becoming He-Man characters. But completely understand the nostalgia that those fans experience in their own way especially in combination with the cartoon.

I remember reading X-Tinction Agenda as it came out, X-Ececutioner’s Song, and the first few issues of the new X-Men with the four or five covers. It was good, but nowhere close to what I’m getting out of this older stuff. But I got nothing but time. I’m hitting this stuff up till I get tired or run out.

[Su_Whisterfield]

You and me are in a similar boat then, friend! Non-Hodgkin lymphoma for me and I’m kicking it’s ass. And I won’t kid, cancer has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I wish you well. Appreciate your coming out with this news here. It holds a place in me now. There are many of us. But you sound good. I feel it in the writing. Thank you for being a survivor!

Keep on kickin’
I had help from one of the best cancer hospitals in the UK, if not the world. Bless the NHS.
And I was lucky; if you’re gonna get cancer, and face it, lots of us are, it helps to get it in something removable (womb in my case, which by my advanced age, was a bit redundant).
Re-igniting my old love of comics has helped keep me occupied.

[pandafarmer]

Hang in there gang. We're all one big X-family and I'm just happy to have all of you along for the ride.

And yes, Marvel Unlimited is amazing. I'm shocked more people don't use it.

[Adam-X]

It'll be even more interesting to see how OP goes into the 90's books from here. I feel like born and raised Claremont fans had a rough time during this era. I know I personally felt like my beloved complicated friends were becoming He-Man characters. But completely understand the nostalgia that those fans experience in their own way especially in combination with the cartoon.

So part of the 90s was all right. But a lot of it did get ... ridiculous. And not so much in X-Men, but a lot of the other books. Especially once Image broke into the scene.
That's when everything started getting really over the top.

The best Claremont issues was from 94 until issue 142.
The rest of the stories were good but weren't as legendary.

Oh. That's a tough call. Because I enjoyed 145-168, I'd say. After that, things began to decline for me (not that I wasn't enjoying it - but it didn't have that same feel of tight continuity).

Welcome back! I kind of had the same thing happen. In the 90's I dropped out but as a Buffy fan I had to check out what the Wheadon run was about which got me into the Morrison run and House of M. Then I had to drop out because I was broke AF and couldn't justify reading multiple comic books. I came back a couple of years ago by accident and then spent about a year+ re-reading everything from Giant-Sized forward so I could understand what they heck was going on.

I enjoyed most of Whedon's run (because it seemed to hark back to Claremont's type of story telling... because, well, it's Joss Whedon and he knows how to write characters). But I wasn't a fan of the Morrison era. And I might have been able to get into it more - but the art got very unusual for me. (And it's not to say it's bad art - just not my style). Just like Jae Lee - fantastic and amazing artist - but not my style. And some art styles work with certain things better (like Jae Lee did a run of Iron Fist, that I actually found myself enjoying;JRJR's art is great, but normally not my style; but absolutely loved the Jurgens & JRJR run of Thor!)

But I always say, even for things that have made me drop comics I've loved; I am always glad to see others enjoying it and keeping the flame alive.

Marvel Unlimited is a boon. I’m off work after treatment for cancer, so I started writing fanfic to keep me occupied* and I’ve been using Unlimited to catch up with characters I haven’t even thought about for decades.

You and me are in a similar boat then, friend! Non-Hodgkin lymphoma for me and I’m kicking it’s ass.Thank you for being a survivor!

Both of you keep kicking it's ass.

[Uncanny X-Man]

its such a shame that the current sales climate of the industry doesn't really allow for long-term storytelling like Claremont was giving us. With unsustained sales and relaunches left right and centre no one feels they have that kind of time to invest into these stories on both sides of the fence, readers and writers alike. not sure where im going with this or even how related it is to the topic. It just makes me a bit sad to reflect on the truly amazing work put into developing the stories that built up the franchise and how that same level of work isn't sustainable anymore

I feel it's really publishers and editors, and by consequence creators, who are shying away from long-form storytelling to instead chase short-term sales boosts with constant relaunches. Generally speaking I think readers and viewers are open to narratives spanning years, subplots and mysteries that take years to conclude and a singular vision driving a franchise forward if the quality is there. Think Game of Thrones, or in comics it wasn't that long ago that Geoff Johns had not quite Claremontian, but certainly multi-year, continuity-heavy runs on JSA and Green Lantern. And sales were there to sustain them. But clearly you can never have another Claremont if your publisher constantly chases after the sales boost a new issue 1 brings.

[pandafarmer]

And honestly, we have no idea what the long game is for this Hickman era. For all we know this is all small seeds for what we'll be reading in 2-3 years.

[Astral Disaster]

Wow. All I can say. Wow.

Just did 134 & 135. The Hellfire Club fight. Dark Phoenix exploded. Caught me completely off guard. Wow. And I knew it was coming. So much foreshadowing. Such good everything.


She fed on a star!!!

Wow!!

Amazing!!!!

Yeah, I remember having the same reaction reading those issues as a kid, I don't recall how many times I reread #135 while waiting on #136, but it was a lot.


3754297-106.jpg
Anyway, my first X-Men was issue #106, all the way back in 1977, I missed #107 and #108, but was onboard from #109 until #147, shortly after John Byrne left, I just really wasn't a fan of the art after that point. I had also just started high school and shortly thereafter dropped comics altogether, but got back into it around '86 or '87, picking up X-Men again when Jim Lee was on pencils, I also ended up buying most of the back issues I'd missed the previous 5 or 6 years. I followed all of the X-Men related titles up until about 1992 when I dropped comics again for around 26 years.

[johnnysv75]

Uncanny X-Men 125 was my first X-Men comic. Fell in love with Jean Grey. Then I fell in love with the X-Men. Loved the long-term storytelling, it allowed for some character development.
Gave up on the X-Men when Jean was killed in Morrison’s run and Marvel had this dead is dead policy. Came back to the X-Men when I saw an article about how Bendis had brought the original five into the present. Used the Marvel Unlimited app to read all of Bendis’s run. Took me a weekend or so. When I heard that Jean would be brought back I read all of the X-books from Giant Sized X-Men up until present day. Took me more than a weekend.
Marvel Unlimited is a wonderful app.