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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 19, 2018 9:34:27 GMT -5
Keeping in mind that I have zero knowledge of the X-titles after 1986, here are my choices:
X-Men #1-16, the original Lee-Kirby run (including the first Juggernaut and Sentinels stories laid out by Jack for others)
X-Men #56-65, the Thomas-Adams run, plus the Heck-drawn debut of Sunfire
Amazing Adventures #11-15, the Beast solo series with scrumptious Sutton art
Giant-Size X-Men #1, for obvious reasons
X-Men/Uncanny X-Men #109-153, by Claremont, Byrne, and Cockrum, from the introduction of James Hudson through Kitty's fairy tale, plus Annuals #3 and 4
Marvel Graphic Novel #5, "God Loves, Man Kills"
Wolverine #1-4 by Claremont and Miller
Nightcrawler #1-4, a fun little treat from a soloing Cockrum
New Mutants #18-28, the Claremont-Sienkiewicz run minus the Master of the Gmes storyline finished by Leialoha. It's all about Bill's art, as otherwise I'm indifferent to the whole concept.
And that's about it. Some may wonder why I left off the short Steranko run. Simple: bad art. Steranko obviously hacked these books out for the money, with what resulted screed up even worse by totally inappropriate Tartaglione inks. Yuck.
Cei-U!
I summon the creme de la creme!
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Post by james on Jan 19, 2018 10:25:42 GMT -5
My 3 favorite XMEN stories are as follows 3. 154-168. When this first came out I was 15 years old and could not appreciate the story or the art. But after rereading it I thought it was one of the best sagas of the time.
2. 56-63 Neal Adams Art. Nuff said!
1. 125-128 Just loved the art(byrne) and the villain ( Proteus). |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2018 11:32:44 GMT -5
Cei-U! ... Same here ... I have no knowledge after 1982, four years before you did Kurt, and your selection is very noteworthy selection of stories.
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Post by String on Jan 19, 2018 12:36:03 GMT -5
In general, I love all of Claremont's run, from the very beginning to the very end. The quality of talented artists that he had during that long run is equally impressive, though my personal top favorites are Byrne and Paul Smith. A few highlights for me other than the seminal favorites of DP and DoFP: Asgardian Wars (New Mutants Special Edition # 1, Uncanny X-Men Annual # 9, X-Men & Alpha Flight #1-2) The Brood Saga (Uncanny X-Men #161-167) UXM #218 - Dazzler, Rogue, Psylocke, and Longshot take on a rampaging Juggernaut UXM #235-238 - the first Genosha story arc The Wolverine mini-series with Miller IMHO, Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza don't receive nowhere near the amount of praise and respect they deserve for picking up the reigns from Claremont. They took the foundations that Claremont built and really expanded it with strong drama and emotion. A few highlights for me during this period: X-Cutioner's Song (Uncanny X-Men #294-297, X-Factor #84-86, X-Force #16-18 and X-Men #14-16) Fatal Attractions (Excalibur #71, Uncanny X-Men #304, Wolverine #75, X-Factor #92, X-Force #25, X-Men #25) Phalanx Covenant (Cable #16, Excalibur #82, Uncanny X-Men #316-317, Wolverine #85, X-Factor #106, X-Force #38, X-Men #36-37) Age of Apocalypse deserves it's own recognition. Yes, it had it's bumps but HUGE kudos to Marvel for having the nerve to cancel all then-existing X-titles for a period focusing on an alternate timeline. Overall, it was ambitious and epic and had many long-standing consequences and ramifications. I have a new-found love and appreciation for Excalibur, especially after finally reading Moore and Davis' Jaspers Warp storyline which was amazing. Generation X, Exiles, and X-Men 2099 also hold a sweet spot for me too. Im not a huge X-Men fan but you nailed almost all my stories that stand out. Brood Saga, and I like they're return in 232-234, Fatal Attractions, Phalanx Covenant, Age of Apocalypse (my all time favorite) , X-Men 2099 and Exiles. I'd add She Lies With Angels (437-441), Uncanny Annual 18, Ghost Rider (Vol 2) 67-68 (X-Men team up vs Brood), Legion's Quest (lead in to AoA). For a minute there, I thought you'd gotten the issue numbers mixed up. I remember the earlier Ghost Rider/X-Men crossover ( X-Men #8-9, Ghost Rider #26-27) where oddly enough they fought against the Brood. I never knew about the later team-up you mention here in Ghost Rider though. I'll have to check that out, so thanks! I re-read Legion Quest awhile back and it still holds up quite well, especially the emotional ending. My only nitpick is the underlying suggestion that, in the past, David may have sexually assaulted his own mother, Gabrielle. |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jan 19, 2018 12:44:45 GMT -5
Im not a huge X-Men fan but you nailed almost all my stories that stand out. Brood Saga, and I like they're return in 232-234, Fatal Attractions, Phalanx Covenant, Age of Apocalypse (my all time favorite) , X-Men 2099 and Exiles. I'd add She Lies With Angels (437-441), Uncanny Annual 18, Ghost Rider (Vol 2) 67-68 (X-Men team up vs Brood), Legion's Quest (lead in to AoA). For a minute there, I thought you'd gotten the issue numbers mixed up. I remember the earlier Ghost Rider/X-Men crossover ( X-Men #8-9, Ghost Rider #26-27) where oddly enough they fought against the Brood. I never knew about the later team-up you mention here in Ghost Rider though. I'll have to check that out, so thanks! I re-read Legion Quest awhile back and it still holds up quite well, especially the emotional ending. My only nitpick is the underlying suggestion that, in the past, David may have sexually assaulted his own mother, Gabrielle. And now you reminded me of the first team up. :-) I should read it when I get home. I'm sure it was good, the Brood are always good, but I can't believe I forgot about it. There was also the two issue mini X-Men: The Brood. But I remember not liking the art at the time I bought it. But can't remember how well the story was. Maybe that's another one to read. I've thought about giving X-cutionor's Song a read too. One of the 90's X-Men events I never read and know nothing about. |
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Post by String on Jan 19, 2018 12:45:08 GMT -5
Nightcrawler #1-4, a fun little treat from a soloing Cockrum Cei-U! I summon the creme de la creme! That is an underrated fun gem of a mini. I'm kinda split on Cockrum though. He's never been one of my top X-artists though I enjoyed his second time around with Claremont (around #150 or thereabouts) more than his early work on the X-Men. For example, the new characters were fine but I've always found his Cyclops distorted, like his visor, as if it was too big for Scott's head. I know, it's nitpicky but something like that, I find highly distracting to see, especially where it's one of my favorite characters. |
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Post by james on Jan 19, 2018 12:56:24 GMT -5
Keeping in mind that I have zero knowledge of the X-titles after 1986, here are my choices: X-Men #1-16, the original Lee-Kirby run (including the first Juggernaut and Sentinels stories laid out by Jack for others) X-Men #56-65, the Thomas-Adams run, plus the Heck-drawn debut of Sunfire Amazing Adventures #11-15, the Beast solo series with scrumptious Sutton art Giant-Size X-Men #1, for obvious reasons X-Men/Uncanny X-Men #109-153, by Claremont, Byrne, and Cockrum, from the introduction of James Hudson through Kitty's fairy tale, plus Annuals #3 and 4 Marvel Graphic Novel #5, "God Loves, Man Kills" Wolverine #1-4 by Claremont and Miller Nightcrawler #1-4, a fun little treat from a soloing Cockrum New Mutants #18-28, the Claremont-Sienkiewicz run minus the Master of the Gmes storyline finished by Leialoha. It's all about Bill's art, as otherwise I'm indifferent to the whole concept. And that's about it. Some may wonder why I left off the short Steranko run. Simple: bad art. Steranko obviously hacked these books out for the money, with what resulted screed up even worse by totally inappropriate Tartaglione inks. Yuck. I noticed you didn't include issue 108 in your Byrne/ Claremont run. Was there a reason? Is it because nothing was really introduced and it was the end of a storyline and Byrne had just joined? |
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Post by String on Jan 19, 2018 13:03:35 GMT -5
For a minute there, I thought you'd gotten the issue numbers mixed up. I remember the earlier Ghost Rider/X-Men crossover ( X-Men #8-9, Ghost Rider #26-27) where oddly enough they fought against the Brood. I never knew about the later team-up you mention here in Ghost Rider though. I'll have to check that out, so thanks! I re-read Legion Quest awhile back and it still holds up quite well, especially the emotional ending. My only nitpick is the underlying suggestion that, in the past, David may have sexually assaulted his own mother, Gabrielle. And now you reminded me of the first team up. :-) I should read it when I get home. I'm sure it was good, the Brood are always good, but I can't believe I forgot about it. There was also the two issue mini X-Men: The Brood. But I remember not liking the art at the time I bought it. But can't remember how well the story was. Maybe that's another one to read. I've thought about giving X-cutionor's Song a read too. One of the 90's X-Men events I never read and know nothing about. X-Cutioner's Song dealt with the growing mystery surrounding Cable and Stryfe. They looked exactly alike, one was the clone of the other. But who was whom? And how are they connected to Scott and Jean? For it appeared that Cable just assassinated Xavier (or did he?), which caused friction between the X-teams as they hunt for Cable while trying to save Charles, X-Force tries to clear their leader's name, and the gov't intervenes with X-Factor. It's all connected to Stryfe's plan of revenge against Apocalypse (who raised him in the future), Cable, and the X-Men. I love this arc because, at the time I read it, I was a teenager who could relate to Stryfe's rage. Stryfe feels that the life that was rightfully his was stolen from him and he filled that void with bitterness and rage. He was going to punish those he felt was responsible and make the mutant world burn in response to his ever-growing anger. Yes, it's intertwined with timey-wimeyness and the ever-convoluted Summers Family tree but at it's heart, the story deals with the themes of love, family, loss, and identity in very strong tones. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 19, 2018 16:09:14 GMT -5
I noticed you didn't include issue 108 in your Byrne/ Claremont run. Was there a reason? Is it because nothing was really introduced and it was the end of a storyline and Byrne had just joined? That's exactly why. Cei-U! I summon the astute deduction! |
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Post by Cheswick on Jan 20, 2018 3:27:59 GMT -5
My favorite X-Men eras/runs/storylines are:
X-Men #1-66
X-Men/Uncanny X-Men #98-178
Morrison's New X-Men run
Ellis' Astonishing X-Men run
X-23 & X-23: Target X by Kyle and Yost
Mike Carey's initial run on X-Men Vol. 2 (#188-206 & An. 1)
Compiling this list made me feel kind of depressed because, while I was making a point of only listing pre-2008 books in order to keep with the spirit of these boards, I realized that wasn't very difficult because there hasn't really been any X-Men books I have liked in the last ten years.
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Post by Mormel on Jan 20, 2018 10:06:59 GMT -5
My favorite X-Men eras/runs/storylines are: X-Men #1-66 X-Men/Uncanny X-Men #98-178 Morrison's New X-Men run Ellis' Astonishing X-Men run X-23 & X-23: Target X by Kyle and Yost Mike Carey's initial run on X-Men Vol. 2 (#188-206 & An. 1) Compiling this list made me feel kind of depressed because, while I was making a point of only listing pre-2008 books in order to keep with the spirit of these boards, I realized that wasn't very difficult because there hasn't really been any X-Men books I have liked in the last ten years. Did you read the 2013 adjectiveless X-Men, written by Brian Wood, Marc Guggenheim, and G. Willow Wilson? It's the one with the all-female team. I actually really liked it. The initial roster is very reminiscent of the mid-80s team, plus Jubilee. It's a shame they dropped Kitty and Rogue off the book early, though. |
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Post by Cheswick on Jan 20, 2018 10:55:13 GMT -5
My favorite X-Men eras/runs/storylines are: X-Men #1-66 X-Men/Uncanny X-Men #98-178 Morrison's New X-Men run Ellis' Astonishing X-Men run X-23 & X-23: Target X by Kyle and Yost Mike Carey's initial run on X-Men Vol. 2 (#188-206 & An. 1) Compiling this list made me feel kind of depressed because, while I was making a point of only listing pre-2008 books in order to keep with the spirit of these boards, I realized that wasn't very difficult because there hasn't really been any X-Men books I have liked in the last ten years. Did you read the 2013 adjectiveless X-Men, written by Brian Wood, Marc Guggenheim, and G. Willow Wilson? It's the one with the all-female team. I actually really liked it. The initial roster is very reminiscent of the mid-80s team, plus Jubilee. It's a shame they dropped Kitty and Rogue off the book early, though. I did read the Brian Wood issues and I think they were pretty good, but clearly didn't leave an impression, since I forgot about the run until you mentioned it. Since posting, I also remembered I liked some of Bendis' run (mainly Uncanny X-Men), as well as Spurrier's run on Legion. |
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Post by spoon on Jan 20, 2018 13:47:45 GMT -5
I love the "From the Ashes" TPB that reprints Uncanny X-Men #168-176, which is most of Paul Smith's run as penciler plus a Walt Simonson fill-in and John Romita, Jr.'s first issue. Actually, I love all of Paul Smith's run, which begins toward the end of the Brood storyline (#164, I believe). #168 is one of my all-time favorite comics.
Of course, I love the Claremont/Byrne run. Pretty much any issue is great.
I notice a lot of fans don't like much past Paul Smith's run. JRjr definitely started slowly, but he got better later on. The big battle between the X-Men, the Hellfire Club, and Nimrod toward the end of his run is a classic as far as action sequences go.
I realize I will be belted by a barrage of rotten tomatoes, but I like Inferno.
But as a general overview: the best parts of the Silver Age is really just Stan/Jack at the beginning and Thomas/Adams at the end. Most of the stuff between those runs is forgettable (and I say that as a huge fan of the X-Men of the 60s through early 90s). I seem to recall maybe liking Arnold Drake's issues. I like most of Claremont's run. I actually prefer Cockrum's first run to his second, which is not a favorite period for me. The other weak point in the Claremont era is around the 250s and 260s. Silvestri's art was subpar toward the end and there were several fill-ins.
A lot of the Classic X-Men back-up stories are nice stories with a person feel. I like the Jean Grey story in Classic X-Men #6, for example.
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Post by Mormel on Jan 20, 2018 17:16:32 GMT -5
^If I had to pick a favourite period of Uncanny X-Men, it would pretty much be exactly the first JRJR run, from around #176 down to #209. I'm specifically a big fan of Rachel Summers' arc, who was introduced in #184 and becomes a proper member around #188. Favourite issues would be #182 ('Madness'), #185 ('Public Enemy'), #189 ('Two Girls Out to Have Fun'), #193 ('Warhunt 2'), and #201 ('Duel'). I like how very tense the book is during this period, there's heavy social commentary related to prejudice in pretty much every issue-- it's where the Mutant Affairs Control Act is signed, Project Wideawake kicks off properly, the X-Men are confronted again with a possible bleak future, the X-Men's public reputation takes a nosedive, and anti-mutant violence increases. All the while, there's also time for some more light-hearted bits, especially with the teenaged members of the group. Rachel and Amara going shopping and visiting the museum is just so precious. Anything involving Lockheed is great. Kitty goes through great development in terms of how she relates to some of the people she loves the most (her parents, Peter, Ororo) and adopts her IMO best costume (the blue Shadowcat one). My one complaint could be that Claremont overdoes it at times with either the narration or the thought bubbles; often the artwork gets pushed aside for the sake of large captions and oversized trains-of-thought, when he could have easily left the artist to tell the story. But for me it's only a minor complaint.  LOOKATIT ITS AWSUMSAUCE!!!1 |
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Post by badwolf on Jan 20, 2018 17:39:28 GMT -5
Mike Carey's initial run on X-Men Vol. 2 (#188-206 & An. 1) I also liked Mike Carey's run, especially when it was drawn by Chris Bachalo (collected in the hardcover Supernovas.) And when Claremont returned to the book with Bachalo, and Alan Davis, I enjoyed as well. |
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