X-Men (vol. 2)
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X-Men is a Marvel Comics series featuring the eponymous group of mutant superheroes. The title began its publication in October 1991 as X-Men. From 2001 until 2004 it was published as New X-Men. It has since reverted (as of issue #157) to its original title. It is often mistakenly referred to as "X-Men Volume 2" because the first series, Uncanny X-Men, was similarly titled THE X-Men prior to 1981.[1]
X-Men is the second monthly series to portray the adventures of the mutant team. Colloquially, it is sometimes known as "Adjectiveless X-Men" [2], in comparison to Uncanny X-Men, Astonishing X-Men and other X-Men series that have modifiers.
When the book launched in 1991, it focused on a squad led by Cyclops. Over the next several years, the two-squad format faded, and the book's stories took place around those in Uncanny. The team divided again into two, then three squads in 2000, and has remained so since.
The book currently focues on a squad led by Rogue, which is currently operating away from the Xavier Institute.
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[edit] History
[edit] X-Men
In 1991, a second X-Men series made its premiere. With the help of the speculator's market of the time and Jim Lee's popularity, X-Men #1, selling over seven million copies, became the best-selling comic book of all time, and still holds the record today [3]. Its first issues were written by long-time X-Men writer Chris Claremont, who left after a few issues due to creative differences with editor Bob Harras [4].
[edit] New X-Men
X-Men ran for 10 years, with various creative teams. In July 2001 during a revamp of the X-Men franchise, its title changed to New X-Men featuring an ambigram logo. Along with these modifications, a new writer, Grant Morrison, was assigned to the title. These changes by the newly appointed Marvel Comics editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada, reflected his idea for flagship titles like X-Men to regain some of their former glory, as well as regaining critical acclaim.[5]
Morrison added fresh and original concepts during his time writing New X-Men. His tenure on the title dealt with Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Beast, Emma Frost and Xorn. While the second squad of X-Men in Uncanny continued on as (now undercover) super heroes, Grant Morrison redirected these X-Men’s mission to that of teachers, and introduced off-beat humor as well as several high-minded, science fiction concepts into the series. Additionally, New X-Men artist Frank Quitely redesigned the look of team, giving them sleek, leather / polyester outfits instead of their traditional superhero uniforms for a more contemporary look and feel.[6]
Some more of the long-lasting changes that occurred during Morrison's run were the secondary mutation of Beast to resemble a feline rather than his former ape-like appearance, and the reintroduction of Emma Frost as a member of the team. One of the more controversial events of New X-Men happened in issue #115 when the island of Genosha and its inhabitants, including Magneto, were completely destroyed. This set the tone that dominated the rest of Morrison's tenure on the book.[7]
Morrison's New X-Men was met initially with mixed reviews. Long-time, continuity-concerned fans regarded Morrison's initial issues as hype to pick up sagging sales. Newer readers, saw Morrison as a breath of fresh air in the world of the X-Books. Sales increased and the title gained critical acclaim. Morrison's run proved to be the successful, critically-acclaimed flagship title that Quesada had desired.[8]
[edit] X-Men again
In June 2004, Chuck Austen, previously the writer of Uncanny X-Men, moved to X-Men with issue #155. The title of the series reverted to its original title of X-Men in July 2004 with issue #157 during the X-Men Reload event. The series has since continued under the X-Men banner.[9]
[edit] Relationship with other X-Men titles
Since the introduction of X-Men, the plotlines of this series and other X-Books have been interwoven to varying degrees. For most of its run, X-Men has featured a completely different battalion of X-Men than other titles featuring the X-Men. While it was not uncommon for characters of one book to appear in the other, any major stories concerning characters were dealt with in their own team book.
X-Men and Uncanny X-Men have shared two periods of time where they were more-or-less treated as a single, fortnightly series. In both of these cases they shared an author: 1995 to 1996 by Scott Lobdell and 1998 to 2000 by Alan Davis. During these times, the plotlines from X-Men and Uncanny X-Men led directly into each other.
In July of 2004, the cast of New X-Men was moved to the newly relaunched Astonishing X-Men, and most of the cast of the Uncanny X-Men was transferred to the now X-Men title. With three main X-Men series running concurrently, members from each book continue to appear in the other titles.
[edit] Cast
Current supporting cast: The additional two squads of X-Men, primarily Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, and the students of New X-Men continue to be the supporting cast.
[edit] Contributors
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Regular writers
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Regular artists
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[edit] Collections
[edit] Trade paperbacks
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| X-Men Legends Vol. 1: Mutant Genesis | X-Men #1-7 | April 2002 | ISBN 0-7851-0895-5 |
| X-Men/Ghost Rider: Brood Trouble in the Big Easy | X-Men #8-9, Ghost Rider Vol. 3 #26-27 | December 1993 | ISBN 0-87135-974-X |
| X-Men: X-Cutioner's Song | Uncanny X-Men #294-296, X-Men #14-16, X-Factor #84-86, X-Force #16-18 | May 1994 | ISBN 0-7851-0025-3 |
| X-Men: Fatal Attractions | X-Men #25, X-Factor #92, X-Force #25, Uncanny X-Men #304, Wolverine #75, and Excalibur #71 | October 1994 | ISBN 0-7851-0065-2 |
| Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties | Uncanny X-Men #305, X-Men #26, Avengers #368-369, West Coast Avengers #101 | April 1995 | ISBN 0-7851-0103-9 |
| Origin of Generation X: Tales of the Phalanx Covenant | Uncanny X-Men #316-317, X-Men #36-37, X-Factor #106, X-Force #38,
Excalibur Vol.1 #82, Wolverine Vol. 2 #85, Cable #16, Generation X #1 |
June 2001 | ISBN 0-7851-0216-7 |
| X-Men: Legion Quest | X-Men #40-41, X-Factor #109, and Uncanny X-Men #320-321 | March 1996 | ISBN 0-7851-0179-9 |
| X-Men: Zero Tolerance | Wolverine Vol. 2 #115-118, Generation X #27, Cable #45-47, X-Force #67-69, X-Men #65-70 | March 2001 | ISBN 0-7851-0738-X |
| Magneto: Rogue Nation | Magneto Rex #1-3, X-Men: The Magneto War #1, Uncanny X-Men #366-367, X-Men #85-87 | March 2002 | ISBN 0-7851-0834-3 |
| Astonishing X-Men: Deathwish | X-Men #92 and #95, Astonishing X-Men Vol. 2 #1-3, Uncanny X-Men #375 | October 2000 | ISBN 0-7851-0754-1 |
| X-Men: Dream's End | X-Men #108-110, Uncanny X-Men #388-390, Cable #87, and Bishop #16 | February 2005 | ISBN 0-7851-1551-X |
| X-Men: Eve of Destruction | X-Men #111-113 and Uncanny X-Men #391-393 | December 2004 | ISBN 0-7851-1552-8 |
| New X-Men Vol. 1: E Is For Extinction | New X-Men #114-117 | December 2001 | ISBN 0-7851-0811-4 |
| New X-Men Vol. 2: Imperial | New X-men #118-126 | July 2002 | ISBN 0-7851-0887-4 |
| New X-Men Vol. 3: New Worlds | New X-Men #127-133 | December 2002 | ISBN 0-7851-0976-5 |
| New X-Men Vol. 4: Riot At Xavier's | New X-Men #134-138 | July 2003 | ISBN 0-7851-1067-4 |
| New X-Men Vol. 5: Assault on Weapon Plus | New X-Men #139-145 | December 2003 | ISBN 0-7851-1119-0 |
| New X-Men Vol. 6: Planet X | New X-Men #146-150 | April 2004 | ISBN 0-7851-1201-4 |
| New X-Men Vol. 7: Here Comes Tomorrow | New X-Men #151-154 | July 2004 | ISBN 0-7851-1345-2 |
| Uncanny X-Men Volume 6: Bright New Mourning | New X-Men #155-156 and Uncanny X-Men #435-436 and #442-443 | August 2004 | ISBN 0-7851-1406-8 |
| X-Men: Day of the Atom | X-Men #157-165 | March 2005 | ISBN 0-7851-1534-X |
| X-Men: Golgotha | X-Men #166-170 | July 2005 | ISBN 0-7851-1650-8 |
| X-Men: Bizarre Love Triangle | X-Men #171-174 | October 2005 | ISBN 0-7851-1665-6 |
| X-Men/Black Panther: Wild Kingdom | X-Men #175-176 and Black Panther #8-9 | February 2006 | ISBN 0-7851-1789-X |
| Decimation: X-Men - The Day After | X-Men #177-181 and House of M: Decimation - The Day After | May 2006 | ISBN 0-7851-1984-1 |
| X-Men: Blood of Apocalypse | X-Men #182-187 | August 2006 | ISBN 0-7851-1985-X |
[edit] Hardcover collections
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| New X-Men Vol. 1 | New X-Men #114-126 and New X-Men Annual 2001 | November 2002 | ISBN 0-7851-0964-1 |
| New X-Men Vol. 2 | New X-Men #127-141 | November 2003 | ISBN 0-7851-1118-2 |
| New X-Men Vol. 3 | New X-Men #142-154 | September 2004 | ISBN 0-7851-1200-6 |
| New X-Men Omnibus | New X-Men #114-154 and New X-Men Annual 2001 | December 2006 | ISBN 0-7851-2326-1 |
[edit] References
- ^ The first issue of X-Men (vol. 1) to be named Uncanny X-Men
- ^ Usage of the term Adjectiveless X-Men
- ^ The record for top-selling comic book
- ^ Creative differences
- ^ New X-Men
- ^ New X-Men
- ^ New X-Men
- ^ New X-Men
- ^ X-Men retitling
- Change of title to Uncanny X-Men
- Use of "Adjectiveless" used on Newsarama
- Comic Book Resources
- Claremont discussion from New York Metro
- Chuck Austen on X-Men title change
- New X-Men discussed by The Comics Journal #262
- X-Men at faqs.org
