X-Men # 1, 20 Years Later

Oh, X-Men # 1. It’s been two decades! I remember getting my copy of the issue from a comic shop in Makati and bringing them and Uncanny X-Men # 281 to school for my friends to read. I was so excited; my favorite artists back then were Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio, who were the regular pencilers for Uncanny X-Men and X-Factor, respectively. I liked the revamped look of the characters and the fact that they were split into two X-teams, gold and blue.

Jim Lee is now Geoff John’s artist on the new, rebooted JLA title, which will be out in print and digital formats by August 31. The DC Universe is being relaunched, changing the existing continuity, according to the recent FAQ release. 52 titles will be released, all first issues. DC doesn’t want to call it a reboot, because it’s “a launch.” If costumes, concepts and histories are changed at the same time, then it’s a reboot. Sheesh.

Anyway, the first time I read news about it, I initially thought, “oh, another Heroes Reborn.” Jim was involved in that too, when Marvel updated the Fantastic Four and the Avengers for a year before reverting them back to “normal,” back in the late ‘90s. I felt that it was another stunt, but the FAQ states that these upcoming changes will stick and be around for “years” to come. The revamped JLA, I’m not excited; Jim’s style looks ordinary now and the designs don’t really stand out anymore. I hope he still improves, though, storytelling-wise and design-wise.

Of all the titles being rebooted, I’m most interested in the two Legion titles. I’ve gotten used to the team being retooled and reimagined, and each incarnation “counts,” as seen in the Legion of 3 Worlds mini, so I’m looking forward to that.

Back to the X-Men. I still read the various X-titles. I still like the characters and mythology, and appreciate how they’ve evolved all these years, thanks to various talented creative teams. The succeeding eras that rekindle childlike enthusiasm include the Grant Morrison and Joss Whedon runs. I respect Mike Carey too; he’s currently writing X-Men: Legacy, which started out as the aforementioned adjectiveless X-Men. It’s now 250 issues old.