This year marks 45 years of the Uncanny X-Men as we know them today, with the release of 1975’s Marvel Comics’ Giant Size X-Men #1. And now, the folks at Marvel are celebrating this mutant milestone with a very special reproduction of this classic issue. And no, this is not just a reprint of an old comic on glossy paper. This is something far more unique and interesting. Some 37 different artists will re-create the issue page-by-page in their own art styles. They’ll work from the late Len Wein’s original script.
Marvel has released a trailer for this special issue, officially titled Giant-Size X-Men: Tribute to Wein & Cockrum, which you can view down below:
So why celebrate Giant Size X-Men #1 as much as the original ’60s debut? Although the X-Men were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in 1963, after the first couple of years the prolific duo left the title. Frankly, they were overwhelmed already creating books like Fantastic Four, Thor, and others. But without the superstar creative team, X-Men sales went into free fall. Despite several attempts to spice up the book with new artists and directions, nothing seemed to click with readers. In 1970, the book wound up cancelled.
Marvel Comics
But five years later, Marvel Comics editorial decided to revive the series with a brand new flavor. Keeping certain elements and characters from the original run – Professor X and his school, Cyclops and Jean Grey for example – Giant Size X-Men #1 introduced an almost entirely new cast of characters to the team. Among them were Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, characters created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum. These heroes became iconic members of the group, and it’s hard to imagine the X-Men media franchise without them now.
Based on these new characters, and the work of subsequent creators like Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Uncanny X-Men became a runaway hit after only a couple of years. But none of that would have been possible without the creative genius of Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. In fact, one of the key elements Wein and Cockrum created for that issue features heavily in Jonathan Hickman’s current Dawn of X reboot. I’m referring to Krakoa the Living Island, which now serves as the home base of the entire mutant nation. So it is only fitting that Marvel properly pay homage to these two creative geniuses. They gave the franchise so much.
Marvel Comics
The announced list of artists involved in Giant Sized X-Men #1 reboot are:
- Alex Ross
- Carnero
- Brooks
- Kevin Nowlan
- Chris Samnee
- Marcus To
- Siya Oum
- Stephen Segovia
- Marguerite Sauvage
- Bernard Chang
- Aaron Kuder
- Takeshi Miyazawa
- Juann Cabal,
- Gurihiru
- Kris Anka
- Phil Noto
- Valerio Schiti
- Leinil Francis Yu
- Matteo Lolli
- Ema Lupacchino
- Carlos Gomez
- Iban Coello
- R.B. Silva
- Ramon Rosanas
- Joshua Cassara
- David Baldeon
- Marcelo Ferreira
- Javier Garron
- Rod Reis
- Javier Rodriguez
- Marco Checchetto
- Jen Bartel
- Mike Del Mundo
- Rahzzah
- Pepe Larraz
- and Mike Hawthorne
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Giant-Size X-Men: Tribute to Wein & Cockrum #1 is due to hit your local comic shop on May 27.
Featured Image: Marvel Comics
