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...And in With the New  X-Men #1 Co-Plotter/Scripter: Chris Claremont Co-Plotter/Penciller: Jim Lee Inker: Scott Williams Colorist: Joe Rosas * Chris Claremont began writing Uncanny X-Men in 1975 with issue 94. Over the next sixteen (!) years he transformed it into the most popular and best-selling superhero comic at either major company. Over those years, the title had three spin-offs - New Mutants , Excalibur , and X-Factor - but remained mostly self-contained. Despite having a large cast and enough plots for several books, there was only one place to read about the X-Men.   That changed in late summer 1991 with the debut of a second title, simply called X-Men . Like the adjective-free Spider-Man before it, the title was a smashing success. And it never would have happened without artist Jim Lee.   Jim Lee was born in South Korea, but his family moved to St. Louis, Missouri when he was young. He attended Princeton University, and studied psychology with a goal of bec...

A New New (Old) Universe The Fly #1 Writer: Len Strazewski Penciller: Mike Parobeck Inker: Paul Fricke Colorist: Tom Ziuko * By dint of their ongoing 60-year continuities, Marvel and DC superhero comics have the blessing and the curse of the enormity of their characters’ histories. It’s a blessing because it creates a sense of loyalty from fans, and gives creators wealth of backstory to draw upon. It’s a curse because it can be a huge roadblock to welcoming new fans. As I wrote in essay #1 , it wasn’t an impediment to me, and in fact I took it as a challenge. But there are plenty of potential readers who aren’t willing to do that.   That’s why both Marvel and DC have, since the 1980s, tried a several times to create new superhero universes separate from their mainstream ones. Marvel’s 1986 New Universe was the first. It started as a “back-to-basics” restart of Marvel’s main heroes (an idea they’d actually carry to fruition with 2001’s Ultimate Marvel), but soon morphed into a coll...