Giant-Size X-Men
Giant-Size X-Men #1 was a special issue of the X-Men comic book series, published by Marvel Comics in 1975. It was written by Len Wein and illustrated by Dave Cockrum. Chris Claremont has an uncredited plot assist. (He came up with the idea of Polaris using her powers to propel Krakoa into space.) Though not a regular issue, it contained the first new X-Men story in five years, titled "Second Genesis." The issue serves as a link between the original X-Men and a new team. Chronologically it is placed after X-Men #66 and before X-Men #94. The 68-page book was published with a May 1975 cover date and distributed to newsstands in February of that year. The issue has been cited as a start point of the bronze age of comics, and is notable for expanding the membership of The X-Men from beyond the white American cast to one of a more international flavour, an attempt to attract more readers from outside the US,[1] even if some characters were portrayed somewhat stereotypically.[2][3][4][5][6]
Publication history
The X-Men title stopped producing new stories after #66 in March 1970. From December 1970 through April 1975, Marvel reprinted many of the older X-Men issues as #67–93. Following the May publication of Giant-Size X-Men #1, Marvel began again publishing new issues of X-Men with #94 in August 1975.[7]
The comic also collects reprints from X-Men #43, #47 and #57.[8]
Plot
The story opens
The team soon learns that Krakoa is not just an island, but a giant mutant as well. Despite personality clashes among the individual members, as well as a fatality, the new team succeeds in rescuing the old X-Men and destroying the entity by shooting it into outer space with Polaris' power. The issue ends by posing the question of the future of a 13-member X-Men team.
The later storyline
Credits
- Story, edits — Len Wein
- Pencils, cover inks — Dave Cockrum
- Cover pencils — Gil Kane
- Inks — Dave Cockrum & Peter Iro
- Letters — John Costanza
- Colors — Glynis Wein
Reprint
The "Second Genesis" story was reprinted in Classic X-Men #1 in September 1986, with substantial editing to reduce its length, and a new backup story by Claremont and John Bolton bridging the gap between this and the following issue, Uncanny X-Men #94.
Collected editions
Marvel Masterworks
Title | Volume | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men | 1 | Giant-Size X-Men #1; Uncanny X-Men #94–100 | December 2009 | 978-0785137023 |
Epic Collections
Vol | Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
5 | Second Genesis | Giant Size X-Men #1; Uncanny X-Men #94-110; Iron Fist #14-15; Marvel Team-Up #53, #69-70, Annual #1; material from FOOM #10 | April 11, 2017 | 978-1302903909 |
Essentials
Title | Volume | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essential X-Men | 1 | X-Men #94–119; Giant-Sized X-Men #1 | May 2008 | 978-0785132554 |
Panini Pocket Books
Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
Second Genesis | Giant Size X-Men #1; Uncanny X-Men #94-103 | July 2004 | 978-1904419402 |
Second issue
Marvel published a second issue of Giant-Size X-Men later in 1975. This November issue had no new material, instead featuring reprints of stories from X-Men #57, #58, and #59, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Neal Adams.[9]
Third and fourth issues
In 2005, Marvel published two new Giant Size X-Men issues to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original. Issue #3 in July contained a story written by Joss Whedon and illustrated by Neal Adams. The issue also reprinted several older X-Men team-ups: the group's appearance in Fantastic Four #28, an Avengers guest appearance in X-Men #9 and a story featuring Spider-Man in X-Men #35.[10] In November, Chris Claremont penned a story for issue #4, with artwork by Neal Adams. It also reprinted material related to the death of Thunderbird from X-Men #94-95, Classic X-Men #3 and Uncanny X-Men #193.[11]
40th Anniversary edition hardcover
The series has also been collected into a hardcover paperback titled Giant-Size X-Men: 40th Anniversary Edition. The hardcover collects Giant-Size X-Men #1, 3-4;
Dawn of X
Five Giant Size X-Men one-shots, all written by
Prints
Issue | Publication date | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Comic Book Roundup rating[17] | Estimated sales to North American retailers (first month) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost | February 26, 2020 | Jonathan Hickman | Russell Dauterman | Matt Wilson | 8.6 by 19 professional critics | 63,077[18] |
Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler
|
March 25, 2020 | Alan Davis | Carlos Lopez | 7.5 by 16 professional critics | 46,861[19] | |
Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto | July 15, 2020 | Ramon Perez | David Curiel | 7.7 by 13 professional critics | Data not yet available | |
Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex | August 5, 2020 | Rod Reis | 8.2 by 7 professional critics | |||
Giant-Size X-Men: Storm | September 16, 2020[20] | Russell Dauterman | Matt Wilson | 8.7 by 12 professional critics |
References
- ^ The Real Reason Marvel Created SHE-HULK - Nerdist
- )
- OCLC 1082518830.)
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: CS1 maint: date and year (link - OCLC 1117642004.)
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: CS1 maint: date and year (link - OCLC 1201179081.)
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: CS1 maint: date and year (link - S2CID 241961595.
- ^ Radford, Bill (1999-11-14). "'X-Men' comics return to simpler times". Telegraph Herald. pp. 3E. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
- ^ Giant-Size X-Men #1, ComicBookDB.com
- ^ Giant-Size X-Men #2, Grand Comics Database.
- ^ PREVIEW: Neal Adams' "Giant Size X-Men" #3 Story
- ^ Taking An Early Look at "Giant-Size X-Men" #4
- ^ Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost #1
- ^ Giant Size X-Men: Nightcrawler #1
- ^ Giant Size X-Men: Magneto #1
- ^ Giant Size X-Men: Fantomex #1
- ^ Terror, Jude (February 17, 2020). "Jonathan Hickman and Russell Dauterman Give Storm the Giant-Size X-Men Treatment in June". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "Giant Size X-Men (2020)". Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "February 2020 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
- ^ "March 2020 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- ^ "Marvel Comics' September 2020 comic book solicitations and covers". GamesRadar+. June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.