''Classic X-Men'', originally titled ''X-Men Classics'' and later retitled ''X-Men Classic'', is a

reprint A reprint is a re-publication of material that has already been previously published. The term ''reprint'' is used with slightly different meanings in several fields. Academic publishing In academic publishing, offprints, sometimes also known ...

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The first volume was a

limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...

which collected stories from the

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

/ Adams/

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and f ...

run on ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

'' (originally published in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

). The second volume was an unlimited series and reprinted stories from the post–''

Giant-Size X-Men ''Giant-Size X-Men'' #1 is a special issue of the ''X-Men'' comic book series, published by Marvel Comics in 1975. It was written by Len Wein and illustrated by Dave Cockrum. Chris Claremont contributed to the plot, having conceived the idea of P ...

'' era (originally published in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

). Both volumes frequently supplemented the reprinted stories with new material. The series lasted 110 issues.

Publication history

The first volume was three issues published in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. Each issue was 48 pages with no ads (as compared to the industry standard of 32 pages with 9 pages of ads) and printed on high-quality Baxter paper instead of the standard newsprint. The series reprinted ''X-Men'' #57-63 (necessitating that the stories from issues #59 and 61 be split across two issues) with new gatefold covers, opening pages which served to summarize the events of previous issues, and a foreword by John Byrne. The new material reunited original writer Roy Thomas and original inker Tom Palmer, but penciller Neal Adams was replaced by

Mike Zeck Michael J. Zeck (born September 6, 1949) is an Americans, American comics artist. He is best known for his work for Marvel Comics on such series as ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'', ''Secret Wars, Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars'' ...

. The second volume was launched in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, reprinting the "All-New, All-Different" era of X-Men. Specifically, it reprinted ''

'' #1 and ''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...

'' #94-206, with the exceptions of #106, 110, 141 and 142. The first 27 issues have various edits and new pages added to tie in with then-current continuity. The new material is often drawn by artists other than those who drew the original story but always written by the writer of the original stories,

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...

. The first 44 issues have new backup stories further delving into and explaining the original stories, mostly written by Chris Claremont or

Ann Nocenti Ann "Annie" Nocenti (; born January 17, 1957) is an American journalist, filmmaker, teacher, comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work at Marvel in the late 1980s, particularly a four-year stint as the editor of ''Uncanny X-Men' ...

and drawn by

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican Party (United States), Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to ...

. After ''Classic X-Men ''#45, the series was retitled ''X-Men Classic'' and from then solely reprinted material from the original ''Uncanny X-Men'' series. The series also included new covers and frontispieces produced by artists such as

Art Adams Arthur Adams (born April 5, 1963) is an American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries ''Longshot (Marvel Comics), Longshot''. His subsequent in ...

(issues #1-16, 18-23),

Steve Lightle Steve Lightle (November 19, 1959 – January 8, 2021) was an American comics artist who worked primarily as a penciller. He was best known as the artist of DC Comics' ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Doom Patrol'' titles. Biography Steve Lightl ...

(#30-42, 44-52),

Mike Mignola Michael Mignola (; born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer best known for creating ''Hellboy'' for Dark Horse Comics, part of a Hellboy Universe, shared universe of titles including ''B.P.R.D.'', ''Abe Sapien'', ''Lobster Johns ...

(#57-70), and

Adam Hughes Adam Hughes (born May 5, 1967) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known to American comic book readers for his renderings of pinup-style female characters, and his cover work on titles such as ''Wonder Woman'' and ''Catwoman''. ...

(issues #71-79).

Collected editions

Trade paperbacks

External links

A brief history of comics in the 1980s during which the Classic X-Men issues were printed

The Comic Book Database
{{X-Comics X-Men titles 1986 comics debuts