I just can’t get into too many modern X-Men comics nowadays—maybe the last arc I really got into was Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s run on Astonishing X-Men. But I can always get into the original classic X-team, and these pin-ups by Bruce Timm, showing the mutants in their original blue and yellow uniforms, just brings back all the Lee/Kirby magic.
Cyclops later graduated into his own costume—a minor variation on the first, that removed the yellow harness. I always liked Cyclops in the early years, he was an underdog struggling to become a leader. On paper, Warren Worthington III was probably better qualified. When Wolverine called Cyke a dick in the first X-Men movie I laughed and felt like a traitor to my boyhood hero!
Marvel Girl was the sweetheart of the team in the 1960s, waiting to see if Scott Summers would be bold enough to confess his feelings. Never thought much of her until Claremont took over. The original X-Men uniform looks pretty nice in retrospect. Speaking of the first X-Men movie, I never bought Famke Janssen as Jean Grey at all.
Timm also did this take on Jean Grey’s malevolent persona, Dark Phoenix.
Even though he didn’t come on the team until Giant-Size X-Men #1, no X-Men gallery would be complete without Wolverine! I wish I could have found some Timm pieces featuring Beast, Angel, and Iceman on their own, but alas, I came up short. Nuff Said.
I agee with you on the X-Men. I think they jumped the shark long ago. However, I'm rereading though all of my old X-Men at the moment, a combination of back issues and Essential Uncanny X-Men, and I recognize the first two images as from the cover of Essential Uncanny X-Men #1. I'm not a big fan of Bruce Timm's work, but I love seeing the original X-Men at any time!
ReplyDeleteAll I have to say is "To me my X-men!" For me Uncanny X-men ended round #200. After that is was a slow slide downhill.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see Timm's take on the blue, furry Beast. I was an X-junkie for a long time. I bailed out when my son was born and all the local comic shops closed back in the mid '90's. From what I've seen of the current storylines, I'm kind of glad I did.
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