Marvel Comics Library. X-Men. Vol. 1. 1963–1966

by Taschen

When Marvel publisher Martin Goodman asked Stan Lee to deliver another new team book for his line of comics, he had no idea he’d be getting something like The X-Men. In fact, nobody could have imagined the extraordinary phenomenon the X-Men would eventually grow into—not Goodman, not Lee, not even the forward-thinking futurist Jack Kirby. What they started out as was a charming, ragtag team of misfits, devised by Lee and Kirby to be mutants—youngsters born with “X-tra” powers thrust upon them not by accidentally crossing paths with cosmic rays or a nuclear blast, but by the fate of birth—led by a no-nonsense professor who trained them to become heroes that could protect the world from menaces, mutant and otherwise.The first years of storytelling laid the foundation for much of what has put the X-Men at the crossroads of comics and popular Hounded by a public that fears and misunderstands them, mutantkind find themselves at the heart of their own civil rights struggle; Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, and Iceman found safety amongst themselves despite the challenges that set them apart from others in society; and Professor Xavier lined up against his ideological foe, Magneto, who had assembled a Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to take the fight for their self-preservation directly to humankind.Along the way, Lee and Kirby—who were on fire taking comics into the Marvel Age—introduced a menagerie of villains and supporting characters that would become mainstays of Marvel and its the super-powered siblings Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch; the formidable Blob; the unstoppable Juggernaut; the jungle dweller from the Savage Land, Ka-Zar; the demigod from the stars, the Stranger; and Bolivar Trask and his army of mutant-hunting Sentinels. And as Lee and Kirby gave way to new talents so they could move on to new corners of the Marvel Universe, Atlas era art veteran Werner Roth teamed with writing newcomer and future X-Men legend Roy Thomas to begin their long run on the title.Close in size to the original artworks, this XXL-sized edition features the first 21 stories of our favorite oddball super heroes from 1963–1966. The most pristine pedigreed comics have been cracked open and photographed for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Each page has been photographed as printed more than half a century ago, then digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing—as if hot off of a world-class 1960s printing press. A custom paper stock was exclusively developed for this series to simulate the feel of the original comics.In addition to these seminal tales are an original foreword by modern X-Men mastermind Chris Claremont, reliving the heyday of Lee and Kirby’s foundational years, and an in-depth essay by X-Men writer Fabian Nicieza alongside original art, photographs, and memorabilia from the early years of X.Also available in a Collector’s Edition of 1,000 numbered copies© 2023 MARVEL

666 pages, Hardcover

Published August 2, 2023

About the author

'Taschen is an art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. It began as Taschen Comics publishing Benedikt's extensive comic collection. Taschen has been a noteworthy force in making lesser-seen art available to mainstream bookstores, including some fetishistic imagery, queer art, historical erotica, pornography and adult magazines (including multiple books with Playboy magazine). Taschen has helped bring this art into broader public view, by publishing these potentially controversial volumes alongside its more mainstream books of comics reprints, art photography, painting, design, fashion, advertising history, film, and architecture.' - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Bob Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contrary to popular belief, this is a pretty good start to your X-Men adventure, uncanny even!

Other good entry points :
https://youtu.be/tNOK-skoL3g

[Omar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi novia es la mejor.

[Jameson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good God! I wish I could magically turn all my omnibuses into Taschens. This is the most incredible comic book collection I’ve ever seen in any format, bar none. Not only is it an incredible showpiece, but it’s the best presentation of these comics since the early 1960s and make for a heavenly reading experience.

Personally, I hate how Marvel omnibuses use overly bright white paper stock that completely changes the coloring of the original comics to some kind of nuclear rainbow that assaults the senses. No wonder some people can’t get into the silver age. Why they don’t factor in the kind of paper actually used in the silver age is beyond me. If you put a yellowish sheet of tracing paper over a page of a silver age omnibus you’ll probably see something closer to the genuine comic. Marvel made a huge mistake when they decided not to go with intended effect of the colors-on-paper but with just the colors noted in production. And even though people have made them aware, they persevere!

Taschen, this book is itself a work of art demonstrating an extraordinary eye for detail. It’s a lovely piece of craftsmanship. I know I and plenty of others will happily fill their house with an entire library of these books. Please do Uncanny X-Men up until 280/X-Men v2 1-3. So many companies throw the word love around but this is love. Thank you so much.