136-450: 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 X-Men comics franchise . It features a team of superheroes called the X-Men , a group of mutants with superhuman abilities led and taught by Professor X . The title was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby , met with
272-487: A naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons - heroes who squabbled and worried about the likes of paying the rent. In contrast to the super-heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko , Don Heck , and others, complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became very popular among teenagers and college students who could identify with
408-474: A flashback to the Howlers' first mission, was co-scripted by Friedrich and Thomas. Following this inauspicious beginning came the first of several Friedrich "The" stories, "The War Lover" (#45, Aug. 1967) – a shaded exploration of a trigger-happy soldier and the line drawn, even in war, between killing and murder. Daring for the time, when majority public sentiment still supported the undeclared Vietnam War ,
544-498: A tabloid -sized, 10-by-15-inch (250 mm × 380 mm), 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover. An anthology , it mixed humor features such as the funny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger" with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the " yellow-peril " adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu -styled villain, Fang Gow. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought
680-587: A Marvel Comics staff writer in New York City, called his friend with the suggestion that freelance work might exist in the newly resurgent medium. Friedrich took a Greyhound bus the following day, and stayed with Thomas and a fandom friend, Dave Kaler , in Manhattan 's East Village . Shortly afterward, Friedrich and Thomas took an apartment on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village . This
816-498: A Siegel/Shuster creation from the slush pile and used it as the cover feature (but only as a backup story) in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The duo's alien hero, Superman , was dressed in a cape and colorful tights. The costume, influenced by Flash Gordon 's attire from 1934, evoked circus aerial performers and circus strongmen, and Superman became the archetype of the " superheroes " that would follow. In early 1939,
952-694: A brief appearance. The Beast starred in his own series in Amazing Adventures #11–17 (March 1972 – March 1973) after accepting a position with the Brand Corporation , and decides to leave the X-Men for good. The original team appeared briefly in a flashback in #11 (March 1972) and in a present-day cameo appearance in #15 (November 1972). Professor Xavier and Marvel Girl briefly appeared in Amazing Adventures #12 (May 1972), and
1088-735: A collection of English-language newspaper inserts originally published in Europe as the 1837 book Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois by Rodolphe Töpffer . The G. W. Dillingham Company published the first known proto-comic-book magazine in the US, The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats , in 1897. A hardcover book, it reprinted material—primarily the October 18, 1896, to January 10, 1897, sequence titled "McFadden's Row of Flats"—from cartoonist Richard F. Outcault 's newspaper comic strip Hogan's Alley , starring
1224-459: A driver/courier in the St. Louis area. In 1993, Friedrich scripted Topps Comics ' Jack Kirby-created Bombast #1 (April 1993), where he teamed once more with plotter Roy Thomas and Sgt. Fury artists Dick Ayers and John Severin. In the 2000s, Friedrich expressed public disagreement about the genesis of the supernatural Ghost Rider . In 2001, Roy Thomas claimed that: I had made up a character as
1360-479: A flame-thrower-equipped bike – in a namesake two-issue series (July–Aug. to Sept.-Oct. 1971). The following year, Friedrich worked with Thomas on the similarly motorcycle-mounted Ghost Rider. Additionally, Friedrich freelanced for the short-lived Atlas/Seaboard Comics , where he wrote the crime comic Police Action #2-3 (April and June 1975) and the feature "Son of Dracula" in Fright #1 (June 1975), and scripted
1496-646: A flashback how Morbius escaped from the X-Men's mansion. Professor Xavier and Cyclops appeared in a brief cameo. They appeared in The Avengers #110–111 (April–May 1973), written by Steve Englehart , where Professor Xavier and the X-Men are abducted by Magneto after an ambush at Xavier's mansion, and later rescued by the Avengers, Daredevil, and the Black Widow. Soon after, members of the X-Men, including Iceman, Angel, Beast, Havok and Polaris, and members of
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#17327718537151632-402: A franchise with numerous spin-off "X-books" including New Mutants , X-Factor , Excalibur , X-Force , Generation X , and other flagship titles like the simply titled X-Men (later New X-Men and X-Men Legacy ), Astonishing X-Men , All-New X-Men , Amazing X-Men , Extraordinary X-Men and X-Men Gold . Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby ,
1768-561: A great good sense of humor", Friedrich recalled. "I wrote things like 'Tears in My Malted' and 'Too Fat to Frug'...." With anonymous help and input from Thomas, Friedrich also began writing superhero stories, beginning with his backup feature "The Sentinels" (with penciler - inker Sam Grainger ) in Peter Cannon ... Thunderbolt #54 (Oct. 1966). He wrote the feature for two more issues before handing it off. Friedrich also dialogued
1904-648: A guest appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #92 (Jan. 1971), where he battles Spider-Man after mistakenly assuming he abducted Gwen Stacy. Later, after realizing his error, they team up against corrupt politician, Sam Bullitt. Iceman appears alone once again in Marvel Team-Up #23 (July 1974), where he teams up with the Human Torch to battle the Equinox . Cyclops, Marvel Girl, and Angel also make
2040-414: A job at Jackson's two weekly newspapers, which were being combined into a single twice-weekly. "I was working about 80 hours a week for $ 50", he recalled in 2001. "I wrote, edited, and laid out the entire newspaper. I was the whole editorial staff without any help. It was driving me crazy". Friedrich had gotten married the year before and by now had a young son, but, "I didn't have time for anything because I
2176-418: A lukewarm reception, and eventually became a reprints-only book in 1970. Interest was rekindled with 1975's Giant-Size X-Men #1 and the debut of a new, international team. Initially under the guidance of artist David Cockrum , writer Len Wein, and especially writer Chris Claremont whose 16-year stint began with August 1975's Uncanny X-Men #94 , the series grew in popularity worldwide, eventually spawning
2312-517: A member of Magneto's Brotherhood. Teenage mutant Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde/Shadowcat was introduced in #129 (Jan. 1980) and joined the X-Men in #139. Alison Blaire/the Dazzler , a disco-singing, roller-skating mutant, was introduced in #130 (Feb. 1980), but did not join the team, instead having a solo title. A new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, led by Mystique , was introduced in the " Days of Future Past " storyline (#141–142, Jan–Feb 1981) in which
2448-603: A million copies a month each; comics provided very popular cheap entertainment during World War II especially among soldiers, but with erratic quality in stories, art, and printing. In the early 1940s, over 90 percent of girls and boys from seven to seventeen read comic books. In 1941, H. G. Peter and William Moulton Marston , created the female superhero character Wonder Woman , who debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman in 1942. MLJ 's Pep Comics debuted as
2584-465: A position where they are gonna make a movie or make a lot of money off of it, I'm gonna sue them, and I probably will. ... It was my idea. It was always my idea from the first time we talked about it; it turned out to be a guy with a flaming skull and [who] rode a motorcycle. Ploog seems to think the flaming skull was his idea. But, to tell you the truth, it was my idea. Ploog recalled, in a 2008 interview: Now, there's been all kinds of dialog about who
2720-465: A present-day appearance in the same issue, they encounter and battle the Hulk, who mistakes Polaris for his former lover Jarella , and a biker gang. As a team, the X-Men assisted Spider-Man in capturing Michael Morbius in Marvel Team-Up #4 (Sept. 1972), written by Gerry Conway , after one of Xavier's colleagues is abducted by the vampire. In Adventure into Fear #20 (Feb. 1974), it is recounted in
2856-510: A profound impact upon the American comic-book industry. Their popularity, along with mainstream media attention and critical acclaim, combined with changing social tastes, led to a considerably darker tone in comic books during the 1990s nicknamed by fans as the "grim-and-gritty" era. The growing popularity of antiheroes such as Wolverine and the Punisher exemplified this change, as did
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#17327718537152992-442: A promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies. The promotion proved a success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals for Canada Dry soft drinks , Kinney Shoes , Wheatena cereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000. Also in 1933, Gaines and Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish
3128-487: A smattering of superhero stories for Marvel, Atlas/Seaboard Comics and Topps Comics , and eventually left the comics industry. In 2011, he lost a federal lawsuit over a claim of ownership in the character Ghost Rider, but in July 2014, three months after an appellate court reversed that decision, the parties said they had reached a settlement. Gary Friedrich was born on August 21, 1943, the son of Jerry and Elsie Friedrich. He
3264-520: A superhero, science-fiction and adventure anthology, but after the title introduced the teen-humor feature "Archie" in 1942, the feature's popularity would soon eclipse all other MLJ properties, leading the publisher to rename itself Archie Comics . Following the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes greatly diminished, while the comic-book industry itself expanded. A few well-established characters such as Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman continued to sell, but DC canceled series starring
3400-494: A ten-cent pricetag [ sic ] on the comic books". When Delacorte declined to continue with Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , Eastern Color on its own published Famous Funnies #1 (cover-dated July 1934), a 68-page giant selling for 10¢. Distributed to newsstands by the mammoth American News Company , it proved a hit with readers during the cash-strapped Great Depression , selling 90 percent of its 200,000 print, although putting Eastern Color more than $ 4,000 in
3536-402: A third of all North American sales in the early 1950s. Its 90 titles averaged a circulation of 800,000 copies per title for every issue, with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories peaking at a circulation of three million a month in 1953. Eleven of the top 25 bestselling comic books at the time were Dell titles. Out of 40 publishers active in 1954, Dell, Atlas (i.e. Marvel), DC, and Archie were
3672-551: A time-travelling Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde/Shadowcat tried to avert a dystopian future caused by the Brotherhood assassinating Presidential candidate Senator Robert Kelly . Byrne plotted the story wanting to depict the Sentinels as a genuine threat to the existence of the mutant race. He then left the series after #143, being replaced by a returning Cockrum, who in turn was succeeded by Paul Smith and John Romita Jr. By
3808-508: A true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold on newsstands ". The Funnies ran for 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930. In 1933, salesperson Maxwell Gaines , sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg , and owner George Janosik of the Waterbury, Connecticut , company Eastern Color Printing —which printed, among other things, Sunday-paper comic-strip sections – produced Funnies on Parade as
3944-550: A villain in Daredevil – a very lackluster character – called Stunt-Master ... a motorcyclist. Anyway, when Gary Friedrich started writing Daredevil , he said, 'Instead of Stunt-Master, I'd like to make the villain a really weird motorcycle-riding character called Ghost Rider.' He didn't describe him. I said, 'Yeah, Gary, there's only one thing wrong with it,' and he kind of looked at me weird, because we were old friends from Missouri, and I said, 'That's too good an idea to be just
4080-638: A villain in Daredevil . He should start out right away in his own book.' When Gary wasn't there the day we were going to design it, Mike Ploog , who was going to be the artist, and I designed the character. I had this idea for the skull-head, something like Elvis ' 1968 special jumpsuit, and so forth, and Ploog put the fire on the head, just because he thought it looked nice. Gary liked it, so they went off and did it. Friedrich responded: Well, there's some disagreement between Roy, Mike and I over that. I threatened on more than one occasion that if Marvel gets in
4216-777: A way to keep their presses running. Like The Funnies , but only eight pages, this appeared as a newsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from the McNaught Syndicate , the Ledger Syndicate , and the Bell-McClure Syndicate . These included such popular strips as cartoonist Al Smith 's Mutt and Jeff , Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka , and Percy Crosby 's Skippy . Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands , but rather sent it out free as
Uncanny X-Men - Misplaced Pages Continue
4352-465: A weekly run in July 2019 and concluded on October of the same year. Shortly after those were completed, the X-Men series relaunched with X-Men #1, accompanied by the other related teams' regular series, such as Marauders , X-Force , Excalibur , New Mutants , X-Corp , Wolverine , X-Men: Giant Size , and reviving 1987's Fallen Angels ; all part of the 2019 story arc " Dawn of X ", which searches to unite all mutantdom and settle down as
4488-585: A whole species. It was announced that a new Uncanny X-Men series would return. The first issue is scheduled to be released on August 7, 2024, cover-dated October 2024, and will be written by Gail Simone and penciled by David Marquez . The members of this team will be: Wolverine, Gambit, Jubilee, Rogue, and Nightcrawler. Like many comic book series, Uncanny X-Men had an associated double-sized Annual series, once in both 1970 and 1971, then regularly from 1979 to 2001. A second series of Uncanny X-Men Annuals began in 2006 as volume 2 issue #1. Note: Despite
4624-461: A year. In 1929, Dell Publishing (founded by George T. Delacorte, Jr. ) published The Funnies , described by the Library of Congress as "a short-lived newspaper tabloid insert" and not to be confused with Dell's 1936 comic-book series of the same name. Historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page, four-color periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than
4760-426: Is abandoned, he takes over the headmastership of the school after Xavier leaves for space in #200 (Dec. 1985). The Morlocks , a group of disfigured mutants living underneath New York City , were introduced in #169 (May 1983). Storm became their leader in #170. She was de-powered accidentally by government forces aiming for Anna Marie LeBeau/Rogue, and met Forge , a mutant with the power of invention. After Storm left
4896-464: Is taken symbolically as the beginning of a new era, although his success was not immediate. It took two years for the Flash to receive his own title, and Showcase itself was only a bimonthly book, though one which was to introduce a large number of enduring characters. By 1959, the slowly building superhero revival had become clear to DC's competitors. Archie jumped on board that year, and Charlton joined
5032-815: The Extermination miniseries. This incarnation of the team features Lucas Bishop , Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler , Jean Grey , Ororo Munroe/Storm , Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock/Psylocke , Jean-Paul Beaubier/Northstar , Robert "Bobby" Drake/the Iceman , Hank McCoy/the Beast , Laura Kinney/X-23 , Lorna Dane/Polaris , Jubilation Lee/Jubilee , Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde/Shadowcat and Sam Guthrie/Cannonball as well as trainee X-Men Hisako Ichiki/Armor , Victor Borkowski/Anole , Megan Gwynn/Pixie , Idie Okonkwo/Oya , Robert Herman/the Glob , Santo Vaccarro/Rockslide . Following
5168-667: The Flash and Green Lantern and converted All-American Comics and All Star Comics to Western titles, and Star Spangled Comics to a war title. The publisher also launched such science-fiction titles as Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space . Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics , also known as Atlas, canceled its three formerly high-selling superhero titles starring Captain America (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ),
5304-754: The Ghost Rider character have been exploited and utilized in a "joint venture and conspiracy". The lawsuit states that the film rights and merchandising reverted from Marvel to him in 2001. The case was transferred to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on February 14, 2008, and Friedrich amended the complaint on March 25, 2011. The suit concluded on December 28, 2011, with Marvel prevailing on all but one count. U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest ruled that Marvel Entertainment owned
5440-554: The Human Torch , and the Sub-Mariner , briefly reviving the characters in 1954 only to cancel them again shortly thereafter to focus on horror, science fiction, teen humor, romance and Western genres. Romance comics became strongly established, with Prize Comics ' Young Romance and with Young Love , the latter written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; those two titles' popularity led to an explosion of romance comics from many publishers. Dell 's comic books accounted for
5576-642: The Japanese mutant Shiro Yoshida (Sunfire) , and James "Logan" Howlett (Wolverine) from Canada , along with new characters Ororo Munroe (Storm) out of Kenya , the German Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) , Piotr "Peter" Rasputin (Colossus) from Russia in The Soviet Union , and John Proudstar (Thunderbird) , a Native American. The original plan was to continue Giant-Size X-Men as a quarterly, but instead original stories were printed in
Uncanny X-Men - Misplaced Pages Continue
5712-509: The Magneto solo series. The series will deal with threats that arise as a result of a new, more dangerous world post- Secret Wars . Summing up the team, Bunn states "They're upholding Xavier's dream, but they have no right to do so." Announced in August 2018, Uncanny X-Men (vol. 5) debuted November 14, 2018, with the weekly 10-part "X-Men: Disassembled" arc and follows on from the events of
5848-533: The Marauders , acting under orders from the mysterious Nathaniel Essex/Mister Sinister The late 1980s saw several other crossovers: 1988's " Fall of the Mutants " and 1989's " Inferno ", which resolved the issue of Madelyne Pryor by revealing her to have been a clone of Jean Grey created by Sinister. The cast was shaken up, with the addition of Psylocke , the Dazzler, Longshot and Havok in early 1987, as well as
5984-485: The New Mutants fight against the government of Genosha for mutant rights, was published in the fall of 1990. The title became twice-monthly from 1988 to 1990 every summer, and helped to launch the careers of artists Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee . In 1991 another X-Men title was launched, titled simply X-Men ; both titles were now published monthly. Claremont wrote the first three issue of this series, in which
6120-838: The Phalanx . Legion Quest crossover (#320–321) The series was replaced with Astonishing X-Men for four months during the event. It featured Clarice Ferguson/Blink, Kevin Sydney/Morph , Anna Marie Lehnsherr/Rogue, Victor Creed/Sabretooth, Shiro Yoshida/Sunfire, and Kyle Gibney/Wild Child . Scott Summers/Cyclops, Hank McCoy/the Beast, James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine, Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock/Psylocke, Anna Marie LeBeau/Rogue, Remy LeBeau/Gambit, Ororo Munroe/Storm, Jean Grey, Warren Worthington III/the Archangel, Robert "Bobby" Drake/the Iceman, Lucas Bishop, Sam Guthrie/Cannonball, Joseph After Charles Xavier/Professor X briefly disbands
6256-757: The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on comic book indecency from April to June 1954. In the wake of these troubles, a group of comics publishers, led by National and Archie, founded the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media". A Comic Code Seal of Approval soon appeared on virtually every comic book carried on newsstands. EC, after experimenting with less controversial comic books, dropped its comics line to focus on
6392-663: The Yellow Kid . The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes introductory text by E. W. Townsend , measured 5 by 7 inches (130 mm × 180 mm) and sold for 50 cents. The neologism "comic book" appears on the back cover. Despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Company's Comic Monthly , did not appear until 1922. Produced in an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -by-9-inch (220 mm × 230 mm) format, it reprinted black-and-white newspaper comic strips and lasted
6528-473: The " Black Widow " feature in Amazing Adventures . He was also given many non-superhero features, including such Westerns as The Gunhawks and co-created the Phantom Eagle with Herb Trimpe . Friedrich was the co-creator and initial writer of Marvel's motorcycle-demon Ghost Rider , and later teamed with that character's first artist, Mike Ploog , on Marvel's The Monster of Frankenstein –
6664-531: The 10th issue, the series began focusing on a new team of X-Men featuring Scott Summers/Cyclops , James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine , Alex Summers/Havok , Jamie Madrox/the Multiple Man , Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane , Illyana Rasputin/Magik , Danielle Moonstar/Mirage , Xi'an Coy Minh/Karma . After this volume, all X-Men titles were cancelled and two intertwining six-issue miniseries written by Jonathan Hickman , called " House of X " and " Powers of X ", began
6800-426: The 1938 publication of Action Comics , which included the debut of the superhero Superman . This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II . After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in
6936-535: The 1960s, DC, and then Marvel, began to include writer and artist credits on the comics that they published. Other notable companies publishing comics during the Silver Age included the American Comics Group (ACG), Charlton , Dell , Gold Key , Harvey Comics , and Tower . Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll were featured, as the anti-authoritarian underground comix made waves in 1968, following
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#17327718537157072-457: The 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic-book specialty stores across North America. These specialty stores were a haven for more distinct voices and stories, but they also marginalized comics in the public eye. Serialized comic stories became longer and more complex, requiring readers to buy more issues to finish a story. In the mid-to-late 1980s, two series published by DC Comics , Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen , had
7208-542: The 1990s changing the format and distribution of their comic books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The " minicomics " form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing , arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small presses. The development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. Publishers had collected comic strips in hardcover book form as early as 1842, with The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck ,
7344-520: The 36-page Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , which historians consider the first true American comic book; Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of the most lucrative branches of magazine publishing". Distribution took place through the Woolworth's department-store chain, though it remains unclear whether it was sold or given away; the cover displays no price, but Goulart refers, either metaphorically or literally, to "sticking
7480-598: The American comic book has been adapted periodically outside the United States, especially in Canada and the United Kingdom . While comics can be the work of a single creator, the labor of creating them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be a separate writer and artist , or there may be separate artists for the characters and backgrounds. Particularly in superhero comic books,
7616-655: The Angel helped the Beast defeat the Griffin in Amazing Adventures #15. After his run on that series ended, the Beast battled against the Hulk alone in Incredible Hulk #161 (March 1973), concluding a storyline which began in Amazing Adventures . Havok and Polaris, as recounted in a flashback in Incredible Hulk #150 (April 1972), leave the X-Men after a bitter quarrel with Iceman and move to New Mexico. In
7752-617: The Archangel, M, Mystique, Fantomex and Sabretooth, while a different team led by Storm will be called the Extraordinary X-Men . Cyclops's fate after Battleworld is shown to us in the Death of X miniseries (Cyclops was exposed to the Terrigen Mist and died from M-Pox). The tagline for the relaunched series is "Bigger threats require more threatening X-Men", and is considered to be a continuation of Bunn's previous work on
7888-526: The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are secretly being abducted by a group of hooded figures known as the Secret Empire . At this point, only Professor Xavier, Cyclops and Marvel Girl remain active, and, after a brief cameo at the end of Incredible Hulk #172 (Feb. 1974), where they discover an unconscious Juggernaut after a battle with the Hulk, seek out the help of Captain America and the Falcon. This led to
8024-678: The CCA) stopped publishing crime and horror titles, which was their entire business, and were forced out of the market altogether, turning to magazine publishing instead. By 1960, output had stabilized at about 1,500 releases per year (representing a greater than fifty percent decline since 1952). The dominant comic book genres of the post-CCA 1950s were funny animals, humor, romance , television properties, and Westerns . Detective, fantasy , teen, and war comics were also popular, but adventure, superheroes, and comic strip reprints were in decline, with Famous Funnies seeing its last issue in 1955. In
8160-943: The Deadly Dozen ( June 1972 – Sept. 1973). Friedrich settled into the niche of utility writer. His first regular superhero series for Marvel was The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, for which he wrote a handful of issues starting with #102 (April 1968; the premiere issue, following the Hulk feature in the "split book" Tales to Astonish ), as well as the 1968 annual The Incredible Hulk Special #1. The series would not, however, launch him as Thomas' natural successor on Marvel's flagship titles, which went to such later hires as Gerry Conway , Steve Englehart , Len Wein and Marv Wolfman . Friedrich mostly would be assigned titles in transition or facing cancellation, including, variously, [Uncanny] X-Men ; Captain America ; Captain Marvel ; Daredevil ; Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. ; and
8296-537: The Decimation. Matt Fraction became co-author from #500, and sole author from #504. The entire X-Men team relocated to San Francisco – first to the city, and then, after the " Utopia " crossover with Dark Avengers , to an island named Utopia in San Francisco Bay . The Nation X storyline focused on the return of the re-powered Magneto, and him coming to Utopia. The Second Coming crossover saw
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#17327718537158432-536: The Gold team, consisting of Warren Worthington III/Archangel, Piotr "Peter" Rasputin/Colossus, Jean Grey, Robert "Bobby" Drake/the Iceman and Ororo Munroe/Storm, appeared in Uncanny . This roster was later joined by Lucas Bishop , another refugee from the future. After Claremont's departure, Jim Lee continued as plotter, while John Byrne scripted from #281–286. Byrne was replaced as scripter from #287 by Scott Lobdell , who
8568-513: The Greys " in 2006, as part of the " Decimation " storyline, where the vast majority of mutants had lost their powers. He was replaced by Ed Brubaker , who wrote a 12-part epic space opera story "The Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire", as a follow-up to his miniseries X-Men: Deadly Genesis . After this, the title led into the " Messiah Complex " crossover event, dealing with the first mutant birth since
8704-574: The Hulk, and later appeared briefly onscreen in Shanna the She-Devil #5 (Aug. 1973) to warn Shanna of an unknown mutant threat, Nekra . In The Defenders #15–16 (Sept–Oct. 1974), written by Len Wein , Xavier teamed up with the Defenders to battle against Magneto and his reformed Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. It was in this battle that Magneto and the Brotherhood were reduced to infancy by Alpha,
8840-609: The Modern Horror age. But as of 2009 historians and fans use " Bronze Age " to describe the period of American mainstream comics history that began with the period of concentrated changes to comic books in 1970. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involves many continuing books, making the transition less sharp. The development of the " direct market " distribution system in
8976-432: The Shi'ar Erik the Red and the Imperial Guard , Arcade , Wolverine's former colleagues, the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight , and MacTaggert's son Proteus . In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Claremont and Byrne's run on The X-Men second on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels". The " Dark Phoenix Saga " in 1980 led to a change in the line-up of the team, with the death of Phoenix (Jean Grey), and Cyclops leaving
9112-449: The Sub-Mariner in #6 and the Avengers in #9. The jungle adventure hero Kevin Plunder/Ka-Zar and the Savage Land were introduced in issue #10. Roy Thomas wrote the series from #20–43 (May 1966 – April 1968). Thomas and artist Werner Roth created Sean Cassidy/the Banshee in #28 (Jan. 1967). The X-Men #45 (June 1968) featured a crossover with The Avengers #53 (June 1968). After brief runs by Gary Friedrich and Arnold Drake –
9248-403: The Twelve " crossover from #370–375, in which Apocalypse sought the only 12 mutants, which also ran in his X-Men title, again being treated as a biweekly publication. As part of the Revolution relaunch, Chris Claremont made a brief return from #381 (June 2000) to #389, at which point he transferred to the new X-Treme X-Men title, as Grant Morrison took over X-Men (vol. 2) and that became
9384-452: The Ultimate Mutant . Xavier made one final solo appearance during this period in Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 (Feb. 1975), where he assisted the Fantastic Four in subduing Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man . X-Men was relaunched in May 1975 with Giant-Size X-Men #1, by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum . The title featured a new, international team consisting of Scott Summers (Cyclops) of the United States, Ireland 's Sean Cassidy (Banshee) ,
9520-418: The Western Ghost Rider – launched with debut-issue co-plotter Thomas, and running six issues, mostly co-scripted by Friedrich and series penciler Dick Ayers . Friedrich also contributed to the parody series Not Brand Echh . He began on Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos with #42 (May 1967) – co-scripted, as was the next issue, by Friedrich's Western partner, Sgt. Fury penciler Ayers. The next issue,
9656-428: The X-Factor and X-Men teams reunited with Professor Xavier at the school. Claremont left Marvel after disputes with Bob Harras and artist Jim Lee (of X-Men ). Claremont's final issue of Uncanny X-Men was #279, during the " Muir Island Saga ", which is set before those events. After Claremont's run, the X-Men were divided into two color-coded squads, with a Blue team headlining the adjectiveless X-Men title, while
9792-502: The X-Men. Anna Marie LeBeau/Rogue , a member of Raven Darkholme/Mystique 's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, defected to the X-Men in #171 (July 1983). Raven Darkholme/Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants changed sides and became the government-backed Freedom Force in #199. Their first action was to capture Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto, who had begun associating with the X-Men during the " Secret Wars II " crossover. Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto surrenders himself, but escapes after his trial
9928-407: The angsty and irreverent nature of characters like Spider-Man , Hulk , X-Men and Fantastic Four . This was a time of social upheaval, giving birth to a new generation of hip and more counter-cultural youngsters, who found a voice in these books. Because Marvel's books were distributed by its rival, National, from 1957 until 1968 Marvel were restricted to publishing only eight titles a month. This
10064-519: The arms and the legs were there merely so I could make the character['s costume] as black as I possibly could and still keep track of his body. It was the easiest way to design him. On April 4, 2007, Friedrich filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Marvel Enterprises , Sony Pictures , Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures , Relativity Media , Crystal Sky Pictures , Michael De Luca Productions, Hasbro and Take-Two Interactive , alleging his copyrights to
10200-408: The art may be divided between: The process begins with the writer (often in collaboration with one or more others, who may include the editor and/or the penciller) coming up with a story idea or concept, then working it up into a plot and storyline , finalizing it with a script . After the art is prepared, the dialogue and captions are lettered onto the page from the script, and an editor may have
10336-478: The bandwagon in 1960. In 1961, at the demand of publisher Martin Goodman (who was reacting to a surge in sales of National's newest superhero title The Justice League of America ), writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four for Atlas, which now re-named itself Marvel Comics . With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, Fantastic Four #1 initiated
10472-451: The book, again initially bimonthly. Chris Claremont 's first issue as writer, #94, featured all the original X-Men leaving the team with the exception of Cyclops. Sunfire also left, having agreed to assist the X-Men on one successful mission only. Thunderbird was killed in #95. Moira MacTaggert , a human ally of the X-Men, and later to be established as a former fiancé of Xavier, debuted in #96. Marvel Girl became Phoenix in issue #101. This
10608-539: The burgeoning 1960s Marvel after fellow Missourian Roy Thomas . Succeeding Thomas on Sgt. Fury , Friedrich and the art team of Dick Ayers and John Severin produced a World War II series for the Vietnam years, combining militaristic camaraderie and gung ho humor with a regretful sense of war as a terrible last resort. The humanistic military drama was noted for its semi- anthological "The" stories, such as "The Medic" and "The Deserter". Friedrich went on to write
10744-456: The character, saying Friedrich gave up any ownership claim when he signed checks containing language relinquishing all rights. She said Friedrich had also signed a 1978 agreement with Marvel relinquishing rights. Marvel countersued with the parties reaching a settlement in which Marvel dropped the suit in exchange for Friedrich paying $ 17,000 in damages, ceasing to sell Ghost Rider-related items of his own creation and ceasing to promote himself as
10880-501: The comic books. An American comic book is also known as a floppy comic . It is typically thin and stapled, unlike traditional books . American comic books are one of the three major comic book industries globally, along with Japanese manga and the Franco-Belgian comic books . The typical size and page count of comics have varied over the decades, generally tending toward smaller formats and fewer pages. Historically,
11016-534: The comic-book debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the future creators of Superman . The two began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval", doing the first two installments before turning it over to others and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", they created the supernatural -crimefighter adventure Doctor Occult . In 1938, after Wheeler-Nicholson's partner Harry Donenfeld had ousted him, National Allied editor Vin Sullivan pulled
11152-438: The concept of the series emulated his own earlier series for National Periodical Publications 's (now DC Comics ) The Doom Patrol , in many respects. However, National's editorial staff did not support Drake's concerns. Initially published bimonthly, it became a monthly with issue #14 (November 1965). Lee's run lasted 19 issues, and featured the X-Men battling villains such as Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants (which included
11288-432: The countercultural era. Legal issues and paper shortages led to a decline in underground comix output from its 1972 peak. In 1974 the passage of anti-paraphernalia laws in the US led to the closing of most head shops, which throttled underground comix distribution. Its readership also dried up as the hippie movement itself petered out in the mid-1970s. Wizard originally used the phrase "Bronze Age", in 1995, to denote
11424-464: The country. Some cities passed laws banning comic books entirely. In 1954, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published his book Seduction of the Innocent , where he discussed what he perceived as sadistic and homosexual undertones in horror comics and superhero comics respectively, and singled out EC Comics due to its success as a publisher of these genres. In response to growing public anxiety,
11560-575: The darker tone of some independent publishers such as First Comics , Dark Horse Comics , and (founded in the 1990s) Image Comics . This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as " A Death in the Family " in the Batman series (in which The Joker brutally murdered Batman's sidekick Robin ), while at Marvel the continuing popularity of
11696-634: The debut and the next three stories of the Blue Beetle , plotted and drawn by Steve Ditko , in Captain Atom #83–86 (Nov. 1966 – June 1967). Friedrich's last recorded Charlton story was "If I Had Three Wishes", penciled by Ditko, in Ghostly Tales #60 (March 1967). By this time Friedrich had already begun writing Westerns for Marvel, including issues of Kid Colt, Outlaw ; Two-Gun Kid ; Rawhide Kid ; and his first regular series,
11832-471: The early days of comic books, this practice had all but vanished during the 1940s and 1950s. Comic books were produced by comic book companies rather than by individual creators (EC being a notable exception, a company that not only credited its creative teams but also featured creators' biographies). Even comic books by revered and collectible artists like Carl Barks were not known by their creator's name— Disney comics by Barks were signed " Walt Disney ". In
11968-477: The even-numbered issues from #94–114 (Jan. 1972 – Nov. 1973). Issue #100 (July 1972) featured a present-day, fictional reunion gala. Friedrich also launched the 19-issue World War II United States Marines series Capt. Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders (Jan. 1968 – March 1970; changed to Captain Savage and his Battlefield Raiders with #9); and the nine-issue World War II U.S. Army series Combat Kelly and
12104-444: The final say (but, once ready for printing, it is difficult and expensive to make any major changes), before the comic is sent to the printer. The creative team, the writer and artist(s), may work for a comic book publisher who handles the marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A wholesale distributor, such as Diamond Comic Distributors , the largest in the US, distributes the printed product to retailers. Another aspect of
12240-464: The first "Secret Empire" storyline, which ran in Captain America #172–175 (April–July 1974), also written by Steve Englehart. Professor Xavier made a few brief appearances of his own without the X-Men during this time. In The Avengers #88 (May 1971), written by Roy Thomas and Harlan Ellison , he made a cameo appearance assisting Reed Richards and General Thunderbolt Ross in containing
12376-610: The first appearances of NPR-TV reporter Manoli Wetherell in #226 (1988), new teenage mutant Jubilation Lee/Jubilee in #244 (1989), and Remy LeBeau/Gambit in Uncanny X-Men #266 (1990). The X-Men left their traditional residence in Westchester County, New York , and lived variously on Alcatraz , Muir Island and in the Australian outback . The " X-Tinction Agenda " crossover, in which the X-Men, X-Factor and
12512-439: The first five issues of which (Jan.-Oct. 1973) contained a relatively faithful adaptation of Mary Shelley 's novel. As one critic wrote of issue #4: "Unmatched by anything else he'd written at Marvel, Friedrich's script ... had reached a point that perfectly captured the 19th-century cadences of Shelley's prose and lifted the strip far above any past or, so far, future attempt to adapt the character to comics". Friedrich co-created
12648-408: The flagship X-Men title. From 2001, Lobdell made a short return, and then Joe Casey and Chuck Austen wrote runs into 2004. The title became bimonthly from 2003 to 2004. The X-Men: Reload reshuffle of titles in 2004 led to Claremont returning to Uncanny with issue #444. The stories addressed the new status quo established by Morrison. Claremont remained until #473. His final story was " End of
12784-908: The group soon after, due to a dispute between Havok and Iceman over Polaris, and moved to New Mexico. It is unknown whether they rejoined the team following the "Secret Empire" storyline in Captain America #172–175 (April–July 1974) and prior to being captured by Krakoa in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). X-Cutioner's Song crossover (#294–296) Fatal Attractions crossover (#304) Generation X forms as Sean Cassidy/the Banshee, Emma Frost/the White Queen , Jubilation Lee/Jubilee, and Victor Creed/Sabretooth protect Clarice Ferguson/Blink , Monet St. Cross/M , Paige Guthrie/Husk , Everett Thomas/Synch , and Angelo Espinoza/Skin from
12920-569: The humans, who see Cyclops as a terrorist's due to his actions in Avengers Vs. X-Men . Eventually, Kitty Pryde and the time-displaced X-Men join his cause after facing a team of X-Men from a dystopian future. It lasted 36 issues, with the final issue reverting to the legacy numbering of Uncanny X-Men #600. As part of All-New, All-Different Marvel , Uncanny X-Men was relaunched, written by Cullen Bunn with art by Greg Land . The relaunched Uncanny X-Men team features Magneto leading Psylocke,
13056-483: The introduction of the Comics Code Authority in the wake of Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency , which, ignoring the social problems caused by the wars of 1939–45 and 1950–52, sought to blame those problems solely on comics. While there was only a 9% drop in the number of releases between 1952 and 1953, circulation plummeted by an estimated 30–40%. The cause of the decrease is not entirely clear. Television had begun to provide competition with comic books, but there
13192-628: The late 1940s and early 1950s horror and true-crime comics flourished, many containing graphic violence and gore. Due to such content, moral crusaders became concerned with the impact of comics on the youth, and were blaming comic books for everything from poor grades to juvenile delinquency to drug abuse. This perceived indecency resulted in the collection and public burning of comic books in Spencer, West Virginia and Binghamton, New York in 1948, which received national attention and triggered other public burnings by schools and parent groups across
13328-535: The latter of whom introduced the new X-Men Lorna Dane/Polaris and Alex Summers/Havok , and during which the series adopted a new logo designed by Jim Steranko – Thomas returned to the series with issue #55 and was joined by artist Neal Adams the following issue for an acclaimed run of stories. After a battle with the Hulk in issue #66 (March 1970), the title ceased publishing original material and featured reprints in issues #67–93 (December 1970 – April 1975). Despite
13464-468: The latter, and was hostile towards the title until Louise Simonson became writer. Artist Arthur Adams began a long association with the team by drawing The Uncanny X-Men Annual #9 (1985) and would serve as the artist on several of the Annuals in the next few years. The end of 1986 saw the first crossover between X-Men titles, the " Mutant Massacre ", which saw a large number of Morlocks killed by
13600-433: The major players in volume of sales. By this point, former big-time players Fawcett and Fiction House had ceased publishing. Circulation peaked in 1952 when 3,161 issues of various comics were published with a total circulation of about one billion copies. After 1952, the number of individual releases dropped every year for the rest of the decade, with the biggest falls occurring in 1955–56. The rapid decline followed
13736-526: The mid-1970s, he also wrote the majority of the seven-page Captain Britain stories in the character's namesake Marvel UK weekly comic book following the departure of original writer Chris Claremont . Friedrich's work for other publishers includes writing for the Skywald line of black-and-white horror -comics magazines. For that company he created Hell-Rider – a Vietnam-vet vigilante motorcyclist with
13872-536: The mid-1980s, The Uncanny X-Men had become one of the best-selling American comic books , turning many of the writers and illustrators into industry stars and leading to numerous spin-offs and miniseries . Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto was gradually revealed to be more complex: #150 established that he was a survivor of the Holocaust , and in #161 it is shown that Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto and Professor Charles Xavier had known each other before Xavier had founded
14008-462: The mutant race's survival. Gillen's run led into, and crossed over with, the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline and finished with issue #20 in October 2012. The volume ended with Cyclops, who had become increasingly hardline during Gillen's run, in prison for his actions during that storyline. Gillen wrote a five-part epilogue, AvX: Consequences . As part of Marvel NOW! , a new volume of Uncanny X-Men
14144-559: The process involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator(s). Fan art and letters to the editor were commonly printed in the back of the book, until, in the early 21st century, various Internet forums started to replace this tradition. The growth of comic specialty stores helped permit several waves of independently-produced comics, beginning in the mid-1970s. Some early examples of these – generally referred to as "independent" or "alternative" comics – such as Big Apple Comix , continued somewhat in
14280-505: The publication of Robert Crumb 's irregularly published Zap Comix . Frank Stack had published The Adventures of Jesus as far back as 1962, and there had been a trickle of such publications until Crumb's success. What had started as a self-publishing scene soon grew into a minor industry, with Print Mint , Kitchen Sink , Last Gasp and Apex Novelties among the more well-known publishers. These comix were often extremely graphic, and largely distributed in head shops that flourished in
14416-650: The red. That quickly changed, with the book turning a $ 30,000 profit each issue starting with #12. Famous Funnies would eventually run 218 issues, inspire imitators, and largely launch a new mass medium . When the supply of available existing comic strips began to dwindle, early comic books began to include a small amount of new, original material in comic-strip format. Inevitably, a comic book of all-original material, with no comic-strip reprints, debuted. Fledgling publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications, which would evolve into DC Comics , to release New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). This came out as
14552-463: The return of Hope Summers , the baby from the "Messiah Complex" arc, to the present day, as a young adult; and the emergence of the "Five Lights", the first new mutants to have arisen (apart from Hope) since the Decimation. Nightcrawler was killed during this storyline and the Beast left in protest after his discovery of Cyclops' secret death squad X-Force . Kieron Gillen took over co-authorship of
14688-629: The satirical Mad —a former comic book which was now converted to a magazine format in order to circumvent the Code. DC started a revival in superhero comics in 1956 with the October 1956 revival of its former golden age top-seller The Flash in Showcase #4. Many comics historians peg this as the beginning of the Silver Age of American comic books, although Marvel (at this point still known variously as both Timely and Atlas ) had started reviving some of its old superheroes as early as 1954. The new Flash
14824-493: The series being in reprints during this time, the X-Men continued to appear as guest-stars in other Marvel titles. In Amazing Adventures #11 (March 1972), it was revealed in a flashback that Hank McCoy/Beast had left the group sometime before and accepted a position with the Brand Corporation. In another flashback recounted in Incredible Hulk #150 (April 1972), Alex Summers/Havok and Lorna Dane/Polaris also left
14960-583: The series launched in September 1963, introducing in its first issue the original five X-Men ( Warren Worthington III/Angel , Hank McCoy/Beast , Scott Summers/Cyclops , Robert "Bobby" Drake/Iceman , and Jean Grey/Marvel Girl ) and their teacher, Charles Xavier/Professor X as well as their nemesis, the supervillain Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto . Although Lee would deny it, it was noticed by contemporary writer Arnold Drake , that
15096-530: The series with #531, and became sole writer from #534.1. The original series ended with #544 and relaunched as a new volume after the events of the X-Men: Schism miniseries, wherein half the X-Men, led by Wolverine, returned to New York, to found a new school. The new volume featured the Extinction Team, containing members of the X-Men whom Cyclops had retained to deal with potential threats to
15232-430: The series, by having him marry Madelyne Pryor in #175 (Nov. 1983); she gave birth to his son in #201 (Jan. 1986). The X-Factor series was launched two months later and featured the original five X-Men. This meant the resurrection of Jean Grey (performed by retcon , the character appearing from #101 having never really been her), and having Scott Summers/Cyclops abandon his wife and child. Claremont strongly objected to
15368-659: The siblings Wanda Maximoff/the Scarlet Witch and Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver ); the Sentinels , giant robots programmed to destroy all mutants, and their creator Bolivar Trask ; and Cain Marko/the Juggernaut , Xavier's stepbrother transformed by a mystical gem and seeking revenge on Xavier. The series was placed firmly in the Marvel Universe , with guest appearances by Namor MacKenzie/Namor
15504-408: The size was derived from folding one sheet of Quarter Imperial paper (15 in × 11 in or 380 mm × 280 mm), to print 4 pages which were each 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 by 11 inches (190 mm × 280 mm). This also meant that the page count had to be some multiple of 4. In recent decades, standard comics have been trimmed at about 6.625 x 10.25 inches. The format of
15640-556: The sole story of the character Man-Monster, co-plotted by Tony Isabella and penciller Rich Buckler , in Tales of Evil #3 (July 1975). He also wrote the second and final issue of The Cougar , the third and final issue of Morlock 2001 , with the rare art team of Steve Ditko and Bernie Wrightson; the third and final issue of The Brute ; and the fourth and final issue of IronJaw (all July 1975). Friedrich left comics in 1978 and returned to Missouri, where he eventually spent many years as
15776-432: The story balanced present-day issues while demonstrating that even in what is referred to as "a just war", a larger morality prevails. His story for issue #72 (Nov. 1969) was heavily rewritten and partially redrawn due to concerns about possible copyright infringement of the film Casablanca . Friedrich continued through #83 (Jan. 1971), with the late part of this run having reprint issues between new stories, and again for
15912-701: The success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman , who debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The period from the late 1930s through roughly the end of the 1940s is referred to by comic book experts as the Golden Age of comic books . It featured extremely large print-runs, with Action Comics and Captain Marvel selling over half
16048-486: The supernatural hero the Son of Satan in Ghost Rider vol. 2, #1 (Sept. 1973). Friedrich recalled in 2009 that Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee "had some idea that he wanted a character called Son of Satan. I have no idea why or where it came from. All he really had was the name and he wanted us to create a character based around that. I guess it just popped in his mind. He said "I want a title called Son of Satan. Do it!" In
16184-407: The team temporarily to return to her native Africa, Nightcrawler became field leader. The character Rachel Summers from the future dystopia presented in "Days of Future Past" had been shown to arrive in the present day in New Mutants #18, and then made appearances in Uncanny X-Men from #184 on and was revealed to be Cyclops' daughter. Claremont attempted to write Scott Summers/Cyclops out of
16320-633: The team to expose the Skrull infiltrator, the team learns of the Twelve. As Apocalypse's plans come to fruition, many X-Men, as well as the members of the Twelve, come together to battle him, even as he warps reality. American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States , on average 32 pages, containing comics . While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after
16456-663: The team to mourn her. Comics writers and historians Roy Thomas and Peter Sanderson observed that "'The Dark Phoenix Saga' is to Claremont and Byrne what ' the Galactus Trilogy ' is to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It is a landmark in Marvel history, showcasing its creators' work at the height of their abilities." The storyline also saw the introduction of recurring antagonists the Hellfire Club , and its Inner Circle consisting of Sebastian Shaw , Emma Frost , Harry Leland , Donald Pierce , along with Mastermind , previously
16592-496: The techno-organic Phalanx . Uncanny X-Men briefly ceased publication during the " Age of Apocalypse " storyline in 1995, which dealt with an alternative present created by a time-travelling assassin killing Xavier; it was replaced by Astonishing X-Men . Lobdell was writing X-Men as well from 1995. Lobdell was replaced by Steven T. Seagle with issue #350 (Dec. 1997). He was replaced in turn with Alan Davis , as plotter, from issue #366 (Mar. 1999) to #380. Davis's run included "
16728-549: The title going into reprints for the next five years between #67–93, the X-Men continued to appear in other Marvel titles throughout this period in a guest-starring capacity or cameo appearance, either as a team or in solo adventures. The Angel appeared without the X-Men in a three-part story involving the murder of his father at the hands of his uncle, Burt Worthington, a.k.a. the Dazzler, in Ka-Zar #2 (Dec. 1970) and #3 (March 1971), and Marvel Tales #30 (April 1971). Iceman made
16864-417: The tradition of the earlier underground comics , while others, such as Star Reach , resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist. This so-called " small press " scene (a term derived from the limited quantity of comics printed in each press-run) continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in
17000-532: The various X-Men books led to storylines involving the genocide of superpowered "mutants" in allegorical stories about religious and ethnic persecution. In addition, published formats like the graphic novel and the related trade paperback enabled the comic book to gain some respectability as literature. As a result, these formats are now common in book retail and the collections of US public libraries . Gary Friedrich Gary Friedrich ( / ˈ f r iː d r ɪ k / ; August 21, 1943 – August 29, 2018)
17136-468: The wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority . The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century. Some fans collect comic books, helping drive up their value. Some have sold for more than US$ 1 million. Comic shops cater to fans, selling comic books, plastic sleeves ("bags") and cardboard backing ("boards") to protect
17272-408: Was a cloud with a silver lining, and proved the making of Marvel, allowing the company to concentrate its brightest and best talent on a small number of titles, at a time when its rivals were spreading their creative talents very thin across a huge number of monthly titles. The quality of Marvel's product soared in consequence, and sales soared with it. While the creators of comics were given credit in
17408-743: Was a time of transition between the beat movement and the hippie era, when the Village flourished as a creative mecca. "The Village was a really neat place to be at that time. We went to the theater that was to become the Fillmore East ; it wasn't called that yet, but they were starting to have some rock concerts, like Chuck Berry . ... I began to let my hair grow and become a real New York hippie", he recalled. After Thomas recommended Friedrich to Charlton Comics editor Dick Giordano , Friedrich began writing romance comics for that low-budget publisher, where many pros got early breaks. "I did it with
17544-464: Was also a rise in conservative values with the election in 1952 of Dwight Eisenhower . The Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body founded to curb the juvenile delinquency alleged to be due to the crime and horror comics, has often been targeted as the culprit, but sales had begun to drop the year before it was founded. The major publishers were not seriously harmed by the drop in sales, but smaller publishers were killed off: EC (the prime target of
17680-438: Was an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics ' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos and in the following era, the series The Monster of Frankenstein , as well as for cocreating the supernatural motorcyclist Ghost Rider and the supernatural hero the Son of Satan . Friedrich – no relation to fellow comics writer Mike Friedrich – was the first successful new writer brought into
17816-572: Was born and raised in Jackson, Missouri , where he graduated from Jackson High School in 1961. He was editor of the high school newspaper and a member of the marching band. As a teen, he was a friend of future Marvel Comics writer and eventual editor-in-chief Roy Thomas . Friedrich worked at a record store in Cape Girardeau, Missouri after high school, and in February 1964, obtained
17952-534: Was followed by the first Shi'ar space opera story. Cockrum was replaced as penciller by John Byrne as of #108. Byrne became co-plotter, and during his run the series became a monthly title again. The series title was changed to The Uncanny X-Men with issue #114 (October 1978). For the remainder of the decade, the X-Men fought enemies such as Stephen Lang and his Sentinels, Magneto, Banshee's cousin Black Tom Cassidy and Cain Marko/the Juggernaut,
18088-483: Was fully credited as writer from #289. The " X-Cutioner's Song " crossover was released in the fall of 1992 and resulted in the outbreak of the Legacy virus , a mutant-specific plague which continued as a story element in X-Men comics until 2001. Crossovers continued through the 1990s. The " Fatal Attractions " crossover of 1993 saw the X-Men battle Magneto again, and the " Phalanx Covenant " story of 1994 focused mostly on
18224-536: Was launched in February 2013 with an April 2013 cover date, written by Brian Michael Bendis, who is also writing another X-Men title, All-New X-Men , and drawn by Chris Bachalo. It features Cyclops and remnants of his Extinction Team recruiting new mutants to help them prepare for what Cyclops believes to be an inevitable revolution, coinciding events of the first All-New X-Men story arc. This volume saw Cyclops leading his team to an abandoned Weapon X facility to train new recruits and prepare for impending war against
18360-495: Was the creator of Ghost Rider. Gary Friedrich was the writer on it. ... The flaming skull: That was the big area of dispute. Who thought of the flaming skull? To be honest with you I can't remember. What else were you going to do with him? You couldn't put a helmet on him, so it had to be a flaming skull. As far as his costume went, it was part of the old [Western] Ghost Rider 's costume, with the Western panel front. The stripes down
18496-474: Was working all the damn time". The marriage fell apart, "and even that wasn't a major problem for a while because I was so damn busy and I was either working, drunk, or both", Friedrich said, alluding to the alcoholism from which he began recovering on " New Year's night in 1979". When the newspaper ceased publication in late summer 1965, Friedrich began working a union job at a Cape Girardeau factory, installing heating elements in waffle irons. Roy Thomas, now
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