‘X-Men Chrono’ Archives
Kitty Pride & Wolverine
This is a very old mini-series that I dismissed as not important story. But I was very very wrong. First of all it's written by Claremont, so it fits perfectly into X-continuity. Kitty leaves the X-Men in Uncanny 183, and this is where she ends up. This story starts with Kitty finding out about her father's involvement with the Yakuza, which [...]
New Mutants 18-21: Spirit Bear
To me this is where New Mutants jumped 3 stories in quality. This is obviously due to Bill Sienkiewicz' arrival as the regular artist. And what a perfect timing. I can't imagine a better story for Bill to draw. What had been hinted at many times in previous issues, is finally dealt with. Or at least Dani is finally confronting her demons, in [...]
New Mutants 14-17, Uncanny X-Men 180-183
Continuing on my chronological reading of X-Men titles, in New Mutants we see Magik finally taking a bigger role in the group, proving not only her powers but her character. She defeats Sym in #14 and it's hinted that Xavier knows about her powers. In the same issue Xavier finally starts walking again, which is picked up in Uncanny X-Men 180. This [...]
Secret Wars
This is part of my chronological reading of X-Men titles, being that the X-Men feature prominently in this story. This was the first event in the Marvel universe, written by then EIC Jim Shooter, but it was different from current crossover events. This 12 issue mini affected many titles, but each regular title simply lead to it in one issue and [...]
New Mutants: Nova Roma (#7-13)
This is a long arc about a hidden civilization which survived in the middle of the Amazon since the time of the Roman Empire. This story starts at Roberto's home, where he and the NM promise to go on an Amazon expedition with his mother. They not only find this hidden society, and are thrown in the middle of a political struggle. This story was [...]
Uncanny X-Men #176-179
After the climactic issue 175, we get a standalone character issue in 176. I love these issues, they allow Claremont to summarize the characters relationship while at the same time give us some action and teasers for future storylines. Here we see Scott and Madelyne "enjoying" their honeymoon with a huge octopus. Mariko clarifies her position with [...]
Uncanny X-Men 172-175
Issues 172-173 are really a continuation of the Wolverine mini-series, only Logan is finally joined by the rest of the X-Men for his wedding. But the Silver Samurai and Viper aren't happy about Mariko's plans. Logan manages to save Mariko with the help of Rogue, who is starting to integrate into the group by proving herself an ally. Finally we [...]
Wolverine mini
This is the first solo mini about Wolverine, written by Claremont at his peak, penciled by a young Frank Miller. Even though this is a Claremont story, I can't help but think that Miller was perfect for this Japanese story. This is the foundation of Wolverine's involvement with Japan. The main story is of love, Logan's love for Mariko. It [...]
X-Men Chrono: UXM168-171; NM4-6; God Loves, Men Kill
I continue reading the X-Men titles in chronological order, with both Uncanny and New Mutants, plus the graphic novel that inspired the second X-Men movie. New Mutants 4-6 are almost filler stories, unfortunately very cheesy and dated stories. First we get a story about Stevie Hunter being harassed on the phone. I think it was supposed to be a [...]
New Mutants 1-4
I've been reading the classic Claremont run on Uncanny X-Men, and I am now at the point in which they introduced New Mutants, also written by Claremont. I actually never read this series, so this is a first for me. First there was the New Mutants GN, which introduced all the various new students all coming from different cultures (very similar [...]
Uncanny X-Men 161-166
This arc finally sees the climax of the Brood storyline and the passing of the art duties from Dave Cockrum to Paul Smith. 161 is a standalone story that shows us Xavier and Magneto's backstory. This is the first time we find out they had a history, but this will be the basis of all great future Magneto stories. I liked this story, it showed [...]
Magik
This is the mini-series that takes place in between 2 panels in Uncanny X-Men 160. This is possible because in Limbo time is different, so Lilandra grew a few years in just a few seconds Earth time. This mini tells the tale of what happened to Lilandra, and it's a very fantasy based story. What I liked about it is that it contains alternate [...]
Uncanny X-Men 144-160
Many subplots in the Claremont-Byrne run where resolved at the end of the Dark Phoenix saga. So with Dave Cockrum's return to the title, a new era begins for the X-Men. One mention needs to be done about the Avengers Annual 10, where Rogue is introduced. This is where she steals Ms Marvel's powers, who will tag along with the X-Men for quite a [...]
Uncanny X-Men 138-143
After the Dark Phoenix Saga, John Byrne concludes his run on X-Men with 6 more issues. Issue 138 is the funeral of Jean Grey, where Scott reminisces about the past and summerizes all major events in this title since issue 1. I thought this was a very well done summary, that puts together seemingly separate stories into character development. [...]
X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga
This is considered one of the best superhero stories and it made a huge impact when it was released. I've read it before, but I was never that blown away by it. I do like it, it certainly is at least controversial and important in the X-Men saga. It also introduces the Hellfire Club for the first time, giving us characters that have a big [...]