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Monday, February 13, 2023

60 Years of X - 1968

 Year 6: 1968


1968 X-Men Comics & Appearances: X-Men #42-53, Avengers #53 & #60!

Xavier dies, Magneto returns, the X-Men disband! The Avengers crossover, Polaris debuts! Roy Thomas leaves, Gary Friedrich comes & goes, Arnold Drake arrives! All that plus Jim Steranko in 1968!

031 - Year 6 Cover: X-Men #50



Newbie Polaris gets showcased via a vibrantly verdant image and Jim Steranko unveils a new logo for the book that will stand for *decades*. 

032 - Year 6 Creator: Jim Steranko





With Werner Roth on the backups amid a particularly fallow period for the series in the wake of Roy Thomas' departure, Steranko, in only 2 issues, briefly reinvigorates the book w/a modern look & dynamic layouts.

033 - Year 6 Character: Polaris


The most notable new character debut since Banshee, Polaris brings the X-Men back together after their FBI-mandated breakup & serves as the focus of one of the weirder Magneto stories.

034 - Year 6 Comic: X-Men #50





Part 2 of an odd 4 part story that doesn't make a ton of sense (even before you get to the later Magneto retcon), but it's hard to escape just how much of an oasis in a desert of lukearm Silver Age art Steranko is.

035 - Year 6 Fun Fact: X-Men No More!


Per Roy Thomas, disbanding the team, a move driven by low sales, appealed to Stan Lee cuz he thought it'd mean Marvel'd be "the first company to have a different title above every issue, heralding a different character"

036 - Year 6 Memorable Moment: Xavier No More!


The first (but not the last) time Professor X is written out of the series in some way. He'd eventually come back, of course, but by all accounts, that wasn't planned at the time.

2 comments:

  1. I have no idea how they’d have grabbed me as a contemporary reader but I’ve always liked the “X-Men featuring…” logo stretch of covers just because it’s so unusual.

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  2. Ah, Sterenko what could have been...

    I'm always wowed when I see that very striking X-Men #50 cover. Sure, the story was weird and weak but man did it look good.

    It's funny that Fred Duncan tells the X-Men they have to disband. I'm trying to picture any team actually ltaking those orders these days.

    I'm also a little sad to be reminded of a time when Marvel would put in an effort to regain sales instead of just canceling the series and relaunching with a new #1.

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