Giant-Size_X-Men

<i>Giant-Size X-Men</i>

Giant-Size X-Men

Special issue of the X-Men comic book series by Marvel


Giant-Size X-Men #1 is 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]

Cover of Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975) by Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum

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 in medias res, with Professor X recruiting a new team of X-Men, to rescue the original X-Men (Marvel Girl, Iceman and Angel [but not Beast, who had left the team], plus X-Men recruits Havok and Polaris), who had disappeared on a mission to the island of Krakoa, with only their leader Cyclops escaping. The new team consists of Sunfire and Banshee, who had been introduced in earlier X-Men comics; Wolverine, who had made his first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181 (Oct. 1974); and the newly created Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Thunderbird. These members are gathered from all over the world, and Professor X uses his telepathic powers to teach them all English so that they can communicate with each other.

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 "Deadly Genesis" offers a ret-con of this story, which tells how Professor X had initially recruited a different team before the events in this issue.

Credits

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

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Epic Collections

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Essentials

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Panini Pocket Books

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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; Classic X-Men #1; X-Men Origins: Colossus; X-Men Origins: Wolverine; X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1-6; What If? (1989) #9, #23; and material from X-Men Gold #1. The second Giant-Sized issue was likely omitted, due to it being reprints of X-Men #57-59. The 440-page paperback was released June 2015. ISBN 978-0-7851-9777-5)

Dawn of X

Five Giant Size X-Men one-shots, all written by Jonathan Hickman, were released as part of Marvel's 2019 Dawn of X relaunch of its X-Men books between February and September 2020. The first, Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost, was drawn by Russell Dauterman and colored by Matt Wilson.[12] The second, Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler, was drawn by Alan Davis and colored by Carlos Lopez.[13] The third, Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto, was drawn by Ramon Perez and colored by David Curiel.[14] The fourth, Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex, was drawn and colored by Rod Reis.[15] The fifth, Giant-Size X-Men: Storm, was drawn by Dauterman and colored by Wilson.[16]

Prints

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References

  1. Darowski, Joseph J. (2014). X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor : Race and Gender in the Comic Books. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-4422-3208-2. OCLC 877868390.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. Hall, Richard A. (2019). The American superhero : encyclopedia of caped crusaders in history. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-4408-6124-6. OCLC 1082518830.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. Austin, Allan W. (2019). All new, all different? : a history of race and the American superhero (First ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-4773-1898-0. OCLC 1117642004.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. Keywords for Comics Studies. New York: NYU Press. 2021. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-4798-1668-2. OCLC 1201179081.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. Flowers, Johnathan (2021). Serrano, Nhora Lucía (ed.). Graphic Spaces of Remembrance, Transaction, and Mimesis. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315643991. ISBN 9781315643991. S2CID 241961595.
  6. Radford, Bill (1999-11-14). "'X-Men' comics return to simpler times". Telegraph Herald. pp. 3E. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  7. Giant-Size X-Men #1, ComicBookDB.com
  8. Giant-Size X-Men #2, Grand Comics Database.
  9. 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.
  10. "Giant Size X-Men (2020)". Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  11. "March 2020 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-07-16.

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