to those of you reading/collection when X-men 94 hit the newsstands... 1 1

[NoMan]

Did you know that was a game changer? Did you know to buy multiple copies? 

[LowGradeBronze]

Bearing in mind my age at the time, if anyone had suggested buying 2 copies of the same comic (any comic,) I would have asked why? Since I could have 2 different comics for the same money. But the multiple copies thing only really occurred to me and made sense much later in life, sadly!!! I'm usually late to the party, but I do get there in the end.

[seanfingh]

On 4/27/2024 at 11:16 AM, NoMan said:

Did you know that was a game changer? Did you know to buy multiple copies? 

I was 5 or 6 and my dad was the one buying me comics.  He was a die-hard DC guy and he instilled my love of Batman, Supes, the Legion and the JLA. He read all the comics (probably before he gave them to me - lol) and he DID NOT LIKE Marvel.  He did his best to keep me happy, and I apparently made it very clear that X-Men and the Avengers were my absolute favorites. Out of GS 1-UXM 112 I only missed 98 and 108 (I think). After that he was more sporadic about buying them and then I got my own subscriptions around 1984.   As a 6 year old, I knew the X-Men were special. 

[namisgr]

Game changer?  No.  Multiple copies?  No.

Familiarity was with the original X-Men team.  It took Giant Size #1 and several issues of the regular series to become familiar with the names, powers, and personalities of the new team members.  Yes, I was familiar with Wolvie from his appearances in Hulk, but he didn't strike me as a big deal from those first appearances.  It also took me time to come to enjoy the plots and scripting.

By ish 100, it was apparent this was a cool, fresh, and enjoyable team and title.  But by then, I was heading off to graduate school and starting a five year hiatus from buying and reading any comics.

[Ken Aldred]

Always liked the X-Men, including the original team and early issues.

I never had the chance to obtain GS XM 1 or XM 94 as neither were distributed to the UK and I was restricted at the time to what was on the newsstand here.  The first I picked up was issue 100, noticing that it was drawn by Dave Cockrum, and I was already a fan of his short LOSH run. Got 101 as well, but then the title stopped being distributed here again for a few issues, restarting with 108, John Byrne's first.  Again, already a fan of Byrne and so this was the point at which I became a regular New X-Men buyer, 12p All-Colour Comics copies, of course.  So, only really switched onto the run when it started to become absolutely classic, and it wasn't until 1980 that I bought my first GS XM 1 and XM 94.

If I'd seen the earliest material on a UK newsstand I don't think I would've been that excited about picking them up, more focused on the later Claremont / Byrne books.  I did miss a few issues, 96 to 99, so clearly there was also some competition on the newsstands I was using at the time, so who can say if I'd even have known about 94's existence anyway?  (I'd switched to another shop by the time Byrne started contributing.)

Edited May 1 by Ken Aldred

[shadroch]

I was very excited about the new X-Men and considered buying a second copy of GS X-men 1, but that week was a big week for new releases and I opted for a copy of GS Invaders #1.  I was not pleased they weren't wearing the old team uniforms. 

As far as X-Men 94 was concerned, everyone knew the money was in the first issues; who cared about issue 94?

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 4/27/2024 at 8:16 AM, NoMan said:

Did you know that was a game changer? Did you know to buy multiple copies? 

[NoMan]

On 5/1/2024 at 8:25 AM, RockMyAmadeus said:

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 5/1/2024 at 1:21 PM, NoMan said:

[Kevin.J]

Not at the time but I wasnt satisfied with the copy I had so upgraded a few times over the years, I never sell anything so maybe ended up with half a dozen or so copies

[tth2]

I vividly remember buying X-Men 94 off the newsstand at the airport in San Diego while my family was on vacation.  I was surprised to see X-Men because it had been on hiatus for a while, after having been a reprint book for several years.  As I hadn't bought (or even heard of) GSX 1, I was confused by what was going on as well, but still found it to be interesting and continued to buy the new series. 

Plus, there were a few elements that pulled me in.  I knew Dave Cockrum from the Legion of Superheroes and liked how he was revamping the X-Men's costumes to look more like the Legion's costumes.  I remembered several of the new characters--Banshee because his original appearance had been relatively recently reprinted in the X-Men, Wolverine because I remembered his appearance in Hulk (although I didn't think he was a big deal) and Sunfire from a recent appearance in Sub-Mariner (although he didn't stay, of course).

[tth2]

GSX 1 and UXM 94 were no great shakes for a long time and didn't command higher prices until Byrne took over and the series' popularity really soared.  During the original Cockrum run, none of my fellow comic collectors in middle school thought much of the new X-Men. 

But then Byrne took over, Wolverine suddenly became popular and everyone started getting into them.  That's when the prices of GSX 1 and UXM 94 started to skyrocket (relatively speaking). 

[jimjum12]

On 5/2/2024 at 12:55 AM, tth2 said:

GSX 1 and UXM 94 were no great shakes for a long time and didn't command higher prices until Byrne took over and the series' popularity really soared.  During the original Cockrum run, none of my fellow comic collectors in middle school thought much of the new X-Men. 

But then Byrne took over, Wolverine suddenly became popular and everyone started getting into them.  That's when the prices of GSX 1 and UXM 94 started to skyrocket (relatively speaking). 

My best pal, Timmy Leaf, showed me his take from the BX back in '75, and pulled out 2 copies of GSX 1, exclaiming that this Cochran guy was going to be the next Adams, and that I should grab a couple. I passed. Now, before we start thinking that Timmy was some Guru of the unwashed masses, I DID have to talk him into buying his AF 15 in VG @ $30 at a show in the 70's. That, unfortunately, was not enough to qualify me for Guru-dom, as I never got an AF 15, because, as the song says, "Tomorrow Never Comes." GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[tth2]

On 5/2/2024 at 10:00 PM, jimjum12 said:

I DID have to talk him into buying his AF 15 in VG @ $30 at a show in the 70's.

That was a lot of money back then!  $30 for a comic might as well have been $3000 as far as I was concerned, because they were both equally unaffordable (and would have been rejected just as quickly by my parents).

[jimjum12]

On 5/2/2024 at 10:33 AM, tth2 said:

That was a lot of money back then!  $30 for a comic might as well have been $3000 as far as I was concerned, because they were both equally unaffordable (and would have been rejected just as quickly by my parents).

... I paid 20 bucks for an FF 5 in very high grade at the same show, wiped out my whole wad. I had to sneak it in the house, as I was afraid my hindparts would have been roasted for spending a month of paper route money on ONE comic. There was also displayed at that show, the first Action 1 that I ever saw in person. The guy was trying to match @Mmehdy record sale of a year or so prior, pricing it at 1800. It was still unsold at the end of the show. You could buy a brand new Ford Mustang for that kind of coin back then. A 10 spot would get snacks and a movie for 4 people with enough left for a large combo Italian Pizza after the show. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[Warlord]

On 4/27/2024 at 11:16 AM, NoMan said:

Did you know that was a game changer? Did you know to buy multiple copies? 

Ha, no, I didn't buy UXM94 off the spinner rack simply because it contained unknown characters, not the "real" X-Men!  I picked up the issue, in a Lawson's store IIRC, and after seeing a bunch of nobodies on the cover I put it back in disappointment.   

[Ghost Town]

I was nine years old when GSXM1 and X-Men #94 came out. I wasn't buying regularly but somehow bought both off the stands. They struck me enough that I bought #95, 96, and #97 too. At that age, I definitely didn't know to buy multiple copies or even keep them in nice shape.

The next X-Men issues I remember buying were in the #111 to #115 range. I think by that time there was some buzz about GS #1 and X-Men #1.

I started collecting regularly when X-Men #128 was on the stands. And as mentioned before in this thread, the X-Men were definitely a big deal by then.

[joeypost]

I passed on both when they originally came out. Wasn’t into the X-Men and focused more on my Hulk, Avengers and Spider-Man addictions. Remember my friend moving one of his copies of 94 a month or so later and trading it for a stack of books. Have only ever owned one copy of GS X-Men 1 and purchased it to flip. Recently picked up a copy of issue 94 for my personal collection some  40+ years after I initially passed on it.

[MattTheDuck]

I was not buying X-Men off the rack at the time, although I had picked up a few back issues when I saw them at the LCS.  I'm pretty sure I never saw this issue either on the rack or in the back issue boxes.  I did get a #112 at some point.  #94 came out about a year before I waken up and started speculating on a few things (like Howard the Duck, Eternals, Nova, etc) which were, of course, precisely the wrong things on which to speculate.  Before that, it just never occurred to me, despite agreeing with the kids view that "these will be worth a million dollars some day!"  

Edited May 6 by MattTheDuck

[namisgr]

For context, this was the X-Men issue on the racks before the new series began.  It's a reprint of X-Men #45, and my original copy bought at the time.  I think it helps explain why comic buyers and readers of the day may have overlooked ish 94: