''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 a ...
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
series published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
. The first volume was a
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
* Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...
which collected stories from the
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...
/
Neal Adams
Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...
/
Tom Palmer run on ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to ...
'' (originally published in 1969). The second volume was an unlimited series and reprinted stories from the All-New All-Different X-Men era (originally published in 1975). Both volumes frequently supplemented the reprinted stories with new material. The series lasted 110 issues.
History
The first volume was three issues published in 1983. 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.
The second volume was launched in 1986, reprinting the "All-New, All-Different" era of X-Men. Specifically, it reprinted ''
Giant-Size X-Men #1'' and ''
Uncanny X-Men #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 a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...
. The first 44 issues have new backup stories further delving into and explaining the original stories, mostly written by Chris Claremont or
Ann Nocenti and drawn by
John Bolton. 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 (issues #1-16, 18-23),
Steve Lightle (#30-42, 44-52),
Mike Mignola (#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''. H ...
(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 printedThe Comic Book Database
{{X-Comics
X-Men titles
1986 comics debuts