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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...

Death Becomes Him Infinity Gauntlet #1 Writer: Jim Starlin        Penciller: George Perez    Inkers: Josef Rubinstein and Tom Christopher Colorists: Max Scheele and Ian Laughlin * As I sat in a packed theater in the spring of 2019 watching Avengers: Endgame, I was surrounded by a person in a Spider-Man costume and another in Captain America regalia. It was at that moment  that it truly hit me just how far into the mainstream superhero fandom had come.  As I discussed this in the introduction to this project, there was a time not so long ago that superhero comics were not only shunned, but derided.  Now, people are going crazy for a TV show featuring Scarlet Witch and Vision, and my sons play with a life size infinity gauntlet toy. This is, of course, all down to astonishing quality of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, and as obvious as this is, the MCU wouldn’t be anything without the comics that came before. It’s become sore...

More Heroes for the 1990s   Sleepwalker #1 Writer and Colorist: Bob Budiansky   Artist: Bret Blevins     * After the success of the “Heroes for the 1990’s” initiative in 1990, Marvel repeated it in 1991, introducing seven new ongoing series between March and October. Like the first go-‘round, the slate included a mix of new heroes ( Darkhawk , Sleepwalker ), revived heroes ( Deathlok , Wonder Man , X-Force ), a new series for an old favorite ( X-Men ), and a licensed property ( The Toxic Avenger ). Like the card-carrying Wild Agent of Marvel I was, I bought every single one of them, even The Toxic Avenger , though it’d be a year or so before I actually saw the movie (on USA’s Friday and Saturday night b-movie trashfest “Up All Night”). X-Force and X-Men were the big stories of the year, thanks to their massive sales. X-Force #1 became the best-selling comic of all time in August with five million sold, at least until X-Men #1 broke the record two mon...

Discovering the Distinguished Competition Justice Society of America #1 Writer: Len Strazewski Artist: Rick Burchett Colorist: Tom Ziuko * Though the 1989 Batman movie got me interested in comics, I didn’t actually gravitate toward Batman or DC Comics initially. It was Marvel that first captured my attention and my heart. In fact, I don’t think I even bought any DC Comics until the January 1991 Robin miniseries, and that was just a fluke in my buying habits. I was a Marvel guy all the way until the summer of 1991,when my dad bought me a box of random comics at a garage sale. Included were Action Comics 553 and 554 by Gil Kane and Marv Wolfman, and the Charlton Blue Beetle by Steve Ditko. These glimpses into other superhero universes made me want more. It wasn’t long after that I came across issue #5 of the Justice Society of America miniseries at Jewel/Osco. The cover featured Hawkman and the Flash, and it intrigued me. I soon bought up the first four issues and then the subsequ...

The Genius of Rob Liefeld New Mutants #98 Plotter and Artist: Rob Liefeld Scripter: Fabian Nicieza Colorist: S. Buccelatto * Without question, Rob Liefled is the defining 1990s superhero artist. In terms of impact and influence, the conversation starts with him and stays there long before it moves on to anyone else.   Perhaps because of this, you won't find a figure in the comics world who polarizes fans so completely as Liefeld does. For some he’s single-handedly responsible for generating a sense of excitement about comics they’d never felt before and rarely have since. For others he’s vilified as the harbinger of an era of excess, amateurishness , and style-over-substance.   Having been there to witness his meteoric rise first-hand, and having followed his career through the decades, I've found myself residing at both ends of the Rob Liefeld spectrum. As an artist and creator he is a living contradiction: a creative tsunami and a storytelling black hole, an innovator and a...