80s X-men discussion 0

[500Club]

We take it way too damn serious.

Tons of people clearly enjoy X-men for a prolonged period of time.

 

I personally enjoyed the Siege Perilous story. I know people disliked it. But I loved the Fall of the Mutants, Inferno, etc.

 

Patrick

I'd still characterize most of the XMen run into the early/mid 200s as above average. It's just that the sheer brilliance of the last two Byrne/Claremont years makes for a very harsh measuring stick.

 

I did love Paul Smith's stuff. Makes me cry that he only lasted 11 issues.

[RockMyAmadeus]

We take it way too damn serious.

Tons of people clearly enjoy X-men for a prolonged period of time.

 

I personally enjoyed the Siege Perilous story. I know people disliked it. But I loved the Fall of the Mutants, Inferno, etc.

 

Patrick

I'd still characterize most of the XMen run into the early/mid 200s as above average. It's just that the sheer brilliance of the last two Byrne/Claremont years makes for a very harsh measuring stick.

 

I did love Paul Smith's stuff. Makes me cry that he only lasted 11 issues.

 

 

I wonder who owns the "Professor Xavier is a jerk!" page....?

 

[fastballspecial]

We take it way too damn serious.

Tons of people clearly enjoy X-men for a prolonged period of time.

 

I personally enjoyed the Siege Perilous story. I know people disliked it. But I loved the Fall of the Mutants, Inferno, etc.

 

Patrick

I'd still characterize most of the XMen run into the early/mid 200s as above average. It's just that the sheer brilliance of the last two Byrne/Claremont years makes for a very harsh measuring stick.

 

I did love Paul Smith's stuff. Makes me cry that he only lasted 11 issues.

 

The 80s Avengers in some ways probably suffers the same issue. After the Korvac Saga how do you get better?

 

[MetalPSI]

Can someone tell me the first appearances of Phalanx, Cameron Hodge, Stephen Lang and Brood storylines?

 

I just finished reading Phalanx Covenant again, and realized back in the day it was more a ploy to introduce Generation X than being a stand alone storyline. Does anyone know if Lang brought the Phalanx back, and if the Phalanx Aliens made it to Earth?

[mec3437]

I grew up reading X-Men from the 1980s.  I probably started in the 270s but worked my way back.  Notwithstanding the greatness of the Claremont time with Byrne and Cockrum, I was quite the fan of the series up until around issue 400.  I've since completed the entire UXM run since they were mostly dollar bin fodder by the time I got back into collecting.  I don't know if I'll ever read them, but I do revisit the era I'm fond of from the late 70s to the mid 90s.  I liked Silvestri's art a lot when I was first getting into UXM.  I scoured the back issue bins to find issues in that run as well as issues like 201, 202, 205, 210-213, 221, 222, etc.  I loved the Fall of the Mutants and reread it a couple years ago.  I thought the X-Men portion was done well.  Hell, I even bought and framed a Fall poster recently.  But, yeah, then Jim Lee took on the art and I really started digging it, then got into X-Men v2 (1991).  Eventually, it all started becoming a convoluted mess and I was almost out of high school and would rather spend what money I was making as a dishwasher on a date than on comics.  I look fondly on that era of comics.  I'm sure it's a lot of filler with some hits and severe misses.  But damn, it was fun to read those stories and see how they differed with the X-Men cartoon.  

On 7/17/2016 at 7:38 PM, MetalPSI™ said:

Can someone tell me the first appearances of Phalanx, Cameron Hodge, Stephen Lang and Brood storylines?

Hodge was X-Factor #1.  I think he became a Phalanx somewhere later on after the X-Tinction Agenda.  Lang was UXM #96.  Don't remember about the Brood.  I have a lot of reading to get caught up on.  

[jimjum12]

After I got back into collecting the second time, X-men was already on # 159. I started picking them up and loved them all. Clairmont delivered no matter who the artist was. My particular favorites from the 80's are the BWS issues. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[followtheleader]

10 hours ago, mec3437 said:

I grew up reading X-Men from the 1980s.  I probably started in the 270s but worked my way back.  Notwithstanding the greatness of the Claremont time with Byrne and Cockrum, I was quite the fan of the series up until around issue 400.  I've since completed the entire UXM run since they were mostly dollar bin fodder by the time I got back into collecting.  I don't know if I'll ever read them, but I do revisit the era I'm fond of from the late 70s to the mid 90s.  I liked Silvestri's art a lot when I was first getting into UXM.  I scoured the back issue bins to find issues in that run as well as issues like 201, 202, 205, 210-213, 221, 222, etc.  I loved the Fall of the Mutants and reread it a couple years ago.  I thought the X-Men portion was done well.  Hell, I even bought and framed a Fall poster recently.  But, yeah, then Jim Lee took on the art and I really started digging it, then got into X-Men v2 (1991).  Eventually, it all started becoming a convoluted mess and I was almost out of high school and would rather spend what money I was making as a dishwasher on a date than on comics.  I look fondly on that era of comics.  I'm sure it's a lot of filler with some hits and severe misses.  But damn, it was fun to read those stories and see how they differed with the X-Men cartoon.  

Hodge was X-Factor #1.  I think he became a Phalanx somewhere later on after the X-Tinction Agenda.  Lang was UXM #96.  Don't remember about the Brood.  I have a lot of reading to get caught up on.  

Much of this was my experience.  I collected it until the end.  

But Austen really killed the book for me. 

I friggin loved Xtinction Agenda.  I bought the Wanted Poster a few years ago.  Looking at it brings back so many great memories.   Our story gave the poster away if the entire set was purchased at a premium (yep, it means we were just paying for it but too young and dumb to know it).

Patrick

[MattTheDuck]

So I'm going to an Estate Sale tomorrow which has "1970s and 80s x-men" but "no rare issues."  Any advice on which to grab if they're there??

[mec3437]

6 hours ago, MattTheDuck said:

So I'm going to an Estate Sale tomorrow which has "1970s and 80s x-men" but "no rare issues."  Any advice on which to grab if they're there??

There shouldn't be anything rare in there minus the 30 cent price variants (98, 99, 100) and 35 cent price variants (105, 106, 107) if it is being touted as 1970s and 1980s X-Men.  If you're wanting to know the issues to look for that have gone stupid in the last few months, then anything with a first appearance.  221 & 244 come to mind immediately.  212 has a black cover that fetches a premium in high grade.  Maybe if some are Canadian price variants (162-208), then high grade ones are sought after.  141 and earlier are doing well.  Other than that, sit back and enjoy the reading.  

[J Bill]

I came on during the Paul Smith run and it pretty much cemented my passion for the hobby.  Issue 173, in particular, was defining for me.  Wolverine vs Ninjas and the Silver Samurai? I mean, c'mon!  If I had a vote, I'd push for a Claremont/Smith run on the new X-Men Legends series where Smith actually completes issue 175 and we get another 100+ issues from the both of them...

It's been interesting to watch the behavior on the CGC prices for these issues.  166 and 169 have 1st appearances (Lockheed and Morlocks respectively) and pull in pretty large dollars, although they seem a little too high given the popularity of the title and number of copies out there.  Once you get into the Romita Jr run, the first appearance of Forge in 184 is really exorbitant. The speculator market these days for 1st appearances of even tertiary characters never ceases to amaze me.

Edited June 25, 2021 by J Bill
Adding some CGC related thoughts

[mec3437]

I was watching an auction on a 184 9.8 about a month or so ago.  I considered hopping in then it sold for over $1k.  Now, some may argue it was a newsstand but newsstand or not, there is no way in dog balls that Forge's first appearance is ever worth a G.  

 

 

[mec3437]

18 hours ago, followtheleader said:

Much of this was my experience.  I collected it until the end.  

But Austen really killed the book for me. 

I friggin loved Xtinction Agenda.  I bought the Wanted Poster a few years ago.  Looking at it brings back so many great memories.   Our story gave the poster away if the entire set was purchased at a premium (yep, it means we were just paying for it but too young and dumb to know it).

Patrick

Awesome!  I've been wanting to pick up the XA poster as well!  I was super pleased with how my Fall poster came out after being framed at the Hobby Lobby.  

 

[followtheleader]

3 hours ago, mec3437 said:

Awesome!  I've been wanting to pick up the XA poster as well!  I was super pleased with how my Fall poster came out after being framed at the Hobby Lobby.  

 

That looks really nice.  Was it creaseless pre framing?  

Patrick

[followtheleader]

5 hours ago, mec3437 said:

I was watching an auction on a 184 9.8 about a month or so ago.  I considered hopping in then it sold for over $1k.  Now, some may argue it was a newsstand but newsstand or not, there is no way in dog balls that Forge's first appearance is ever worth a G.  

 

 

If you enjoy older Xmen, then the recent series is for you.

Modern take with the old greats and a bunch of new characters.

Forge has made recent important appearances.  I really liked him, such a great supplement to all the sluggers.

But not $1k worthy.

Patrick

[ADAMANTIUM]

7 minutes ago, followtheleader said:

If you enjoy older Xmen, then the recent series is for you.

Modern take with the old greats and a bunch of new characters.

Forge has made recent important appearances.  I really liked him, such a great supplement to all the sluggers.

But not $1k worthy.

Patrick

I only recently read up on his powers, that he "can understand and recreate technology ", which sounded decent for time travel and other futuristic stuff

I'd have to read the new series, but given that older premise, you have peeked my curiosity 

[followtheleader]

11 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I only recently read up on his powers, that he "can understand and recreate technology ", which sounded decent for time travel and other futuristic stuff

I'd have to read the new series, but given that older premise, you have peeked my curiosity 

Writer is great about throwing a bone to a bunch from all eras.  Nimrod is fantastic again.   Even characters from GenX are really important.  At times I think the story is about to get stale, than I'm proven wrong.  I mean, how many could make Apocalypse a believable Xmen cohort.

Patrick

[mec3437]

10 hours ago, followtheleader said:

That looks really nice.  Was it creaseless pre framing?  

Patrick

I wish, but it was folded into a nice little square.  The folks at the Hobby Lobby essentially pressed it to flatten it out for the framing process.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good it looked after everything was said and done with it.  Now to make a man/nerd cave with comics and football stuff.  

10 hours ago, followtheleader said:

If you enjoy older Xmen, then the recent series is for you.

Modern take with the old greats and a bunch of new characters.

Forge has made recent important appearances.  I really liked him, such a great supplement to all the sluggers.

But not $1k worthy.

Patrick

Is the X-Men Legends series that started a few months back?  I think I remember seeing it on the shelf at the LCS but never picked it up.  If so, I can scoop up a few back issues and give it a shot.  

[The Green Ghost]

I wonder when this "era" ended. In the way Spider-Man's 80s era probably ended with McFarlane coming on. I would say at the end of Fall of the Mutants with 227, which was coincidentally the same month. Kind of the close of the "classic" 80s era.

[followtheleader]

19 hours ago, The Green Ghost said:

I wonder when this "era" ended. In the way Spider-Man's 80s era probably ended with McFarlane coming on. I would say at the end of Fall of the Mutants with 227, which was coincidentally the same month. Kind of the close of the "classic" 80s era.

Good question.  Probably get a different answer from everyone. 

Personally, I felt like it went longer.  Definitely thru Inferno and even the Siege Perilous. 

There is definitely a defining change at X-men 281.  Much gray in the Lee era (260s/270s) preceding it.

Patrick

[jimjum12]

3 hours ago, followtheleader said:

Good question.  Probably get a different answer from everyone. 

Personally, I felt like it went longer.  Definitely thru Inferno and even the Siege Perilous. 

There is definitely a defining change at X-men 281.  Much gray in the Lee era (260s/270s) preceding it.

Patrick

... or a tough question. I always felt the 80's X-men  with Jim Lee were kind of like the Miller DD run ... Miller kind of evolved in the middle of the run, so half of it seems to be one era while the other half seems to be another era. Sometimes it's almost easy to forget that Lee was there after all the notoriety that came shortly after with Image. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)