Ungoliantschilde

1978's X-Men Vol.1 #111's (LGY : Uncanny X-Men #111) last page by writer Chris Claremont, artist John Byrne, inker Terry Austin, colorist Mary Titus and letterer Tom Orzechowski (what a dream team, also joined by editor Roger Stern in the next issues).

Wolverine, Vol. 2 # 08 by John Buscema.

*this is my personal favorite cover ever put on a comic book, and this issue and the one before it are my two favorite comics ever. It is a buddy comedy about Wolverine and Hulk beating the crap out of drug dealing pirates, and John Buscema drew the whole thing, with Inks by Al Williamson, and a Script by Chris Claremont. I just smile and laugh every time I read these two issues.*

I’d love a tribute issue for this. Where Laura Kinney takes ownership of the Princess Bar in Madripoor, and she hires Jennifer Walters as her lawyer.

Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Joe Rosas’s cover process for X-Men # 1.

Best selling because its the same comic with 4 different covers.

Yes, that is partially correct. But everyone was doing that at the time. That’s why I hate on ’90s comics for being all flash and no substance.

A cover is supposed to get your attention, which is exactly what these do. It is a (frankly) odd layout choice, but it was also a very early example of this type of cover artwork.

Does anybody remember those early issues of X-Men, Vol. 2 because of the story? I sure as shit don’t.

That and this was the era when people began to realize how valuable comics could be, so when covers like these were released, people bought more than one set, expecting them to be worth millions ten or twenty years later.

Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man # 1 came in like, 5 different variant versions. One had gold webs, one had silver, and one had platinum. There was also a second print in bronze, and so on. Rob Liefeld’s X-Force # 1 cover came in a polybag with a trading card. With one card per book, you “needed” to get 6-7 copies of the book in order to get all of the cards.

Meanwhile, DC’s Death of Superman came out a couple years later. Superman # 75 was polybagged as well. You could not read the comic without opening the polybag. Ever seen one that was graded? They get graded down a whole number if the polybag has been opened.

Incidentally, the CGC got its start by being advertised in the back of Wizard Magazine, which published a horse-shit “price guide”, which featured wildly exaggerated prices or outright lies.

This was about the time I got into comics as a kid. I have fond memories of those comics and very much so remember what happened in them. These comics created an addiction that I still haven’t been able to kick in 20+ years. I wanted to and had to know everything about the X-Men and all the characters. As a kid, every penny i had went to getting back issues so I could learn more about these fascinating characters. I know people look back poorly at the 90’s for the greed and over saturation of the market, but these were my gateway into the X-Men and into comics, and I will always love them for that.

I look back with fond memories, to be honest. I did not know who any of these artists were until College, when I went back to reading them. I’d gotten into the X-Men as a kid with the Uncanny X-Men # 300 and the X-Men Vs. Dracula Oneshots as my first loves. I had a ratty TPB of Wolverine, Vol. 1 by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont. To this day, I still read the same two copies of the Essential Wolverine, Vol.’s 1 & 2. The covers are taped on, but I still read them.

I read other stuff as I started college, and I developed an interest in marrying the idealized version of comics with more classical artwork and different types of music. My first memory of artwork is my father reading the N.C. Wyeth-Illustrated version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” to me.

Anyways, college was when I started thinking about painting and painting lead me back to comics.

Re-reading Jim Lee’s X-Men feels like watching a Saturday Morning cartoon to me. It’s not bad memories, but it is not artwork that I go looking for.

It bears noting that in 1991, these issues were sold over the counter exclusively.

Every single issue of X-Men, Vol. 2 # 01 was bought in person, with cash, personal check, or a credit card on one of those old school credit card machines that made an ink imprint of the numbers. That’s a big deal, and it needs to be appreciated in an era of comicbook readers that grew up with smartphones.

Dan Slott’s Spider-Man broke records when he sold a million copies. That number included digital sales.

Jim Lee’s X-Men # 1 sold more copies than any comic book in history, and it did it at a time when people had to physically walk to a comic book store and buy the physical book. Part of those sales numbers are the gimmick of the variant covers. But that’s still the staggering heat this book garnered. And there has not been a book since that came even close.

The only comparable experience I can think of was when Marvel was publishing the first Civil War event book by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. I was close with the owner of the local store where I went to college. The first Marvel Civil War event book absolutely revitalized his store. Bob does not even LIKE superhero books, but he LOVED Marvel’s Civil War. It saved his ass.

People shit on Mark Millar for being bombastic and over the top, but he sells books. And LCS owners love that guy because he sells books.

Jim Lee is the Michael Bay of comic book artists. THAT’S NOT A COMPLIMENT. But.

Jim Lee sells books.

Felipe Massafera was commissioned to recreate Dave Cockrum’s iconic opening splash page from the X-Men, Vol. 1 # 107, Pg. 01.

I found these images on this http://www.comicartfans.com page.

Brett Booth, after Dave Cockrum.

Uncanny X-Men #230

by Chris Claremont (W.); Marc Silvestri (P.); Joe Rubinstein (I:); Glynis Oliver (C.) and Tom Orzechowski (L.)

Marvel

“My name’s Logan - - but most people know me as Wolverine. I’m the best there is at what I do.”, by John Buscema, with Inks by Al Williamson, Letters by Tom Orzechowski, Colors by Glynis Oliver, and a Script by Chris Claremont.

New Mutants Special

by Chris Claremont; Arthur Adams; Terry Austin;  Christy Scheele; Lois Buhalis and Tom Orzechowski

Marvel

New Mutants Special

by Chris Claremont; Arthur Adams; Terry Austin; Christie Scheele and Lois Buhalis/Tom Orzechowski

Marvel

the Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1 # 186 Page 01, illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith, with Inks by Terry Austin, Colors by Glynis Wein and Christie Scheele, Letters by Tom Orzechowski, a Script by Chris Claremont, and Ann Nocenti was their Editor.

arguably one of the most objectively beautiful pages ever published in a comic book.

I found the inks in the Essential X-Men reprint of this issue. My guess is that the original Inks will never show up for sale - they’re in Terry Austin or Chris Claremont’s personal private collections, if I had to guess. The pencils were published in Barry’s first Opus book. The colors are attributed to both Glynis Wein and Christie Scheele.

Everyone involved KNOWS how good this book is, and they want to make sure their credit is properly attributed.