''Classic X-Men'', originally titled ''X-Men Classics'' and later retitled ''X-Men Classic'', is a

reprint A reprint is a re-publication of material that has already been previously published. The term ''reprint'' is used with slightly different meanings in several fields. Academic publishing In academic publishing, offprints, sometimes also known a ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The first volume was a

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

which collected stories from the

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...

/ Tom Palmer run on ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

'' (originally published in 1969). The second volume was an unlimited series and reprinted stories from the All-New All-Different X-Men era (originally published in 1975). Both volumes frequently supplemented the reprinted stories with new material. The series lasted 110 issues.

History

The first volume was three issues published in 1983. Each issue was 48 pages with no ads (as compared to the industry standard of 32 pages with 9 pages of ads) and printed on high quality Baxter paper instead of the standard newsprint. The series reprinted ''X-Men'' #57-63 (necessitating that the stories from issues #59 and 61 be split across two issues) with new gatefold covers, opening pages which served to summarize the events of previous issues, and a foreword by John Byrne. The new material reunited original writer Roy Thomas and original inker Tom Palmer, but penciller Neal Adams was replaced by

Mike Zeck Michael J. Zeck (born September 6, 1949), is an American comics artist. He is best known for his work for Marvel Comics on such series as ''Captain America'', ''Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars'', '' Master of Kung-Fu'', and ''The Punisher'' as wel ...

. The second volume was launched in 1986, reprinting the "All-New, All-Different" era of X-Men. Specifically, it reprinted '' Giant-Size X-Men #1'' and '' Uncanny X-Men #94-206'', with the exceptions of #106, 110, 141 and 142. The first 27 issues have various edits and new pages added to tie in with then-current continuity. The new material is often drawn by artists other than those who drew the original story but always written by the writer of the original stories,

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...

. The first 44 issues have new backup stories further delving into and explaining the original stories, mostly written by Chris Claremont or

Ann Nocenti Ann "Annie" Nocenti (; born January 17, 1957) is an American journalist, filmmaker, teacher, comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work at Marvel in the late 1980s, particularly the four-year stint as the editor of ''Uncanny X-Me ...

and drawn by

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...

. After ''Classic X-Men ''#45, the series was retitled ''X-Men Classic'' and from then solely reprinted material from the original ''Uncanny X-Men'' series. The series also included new covers and frontispieces produced by artists such as

Art Adams Arthur Adams (born April 5, 1963) is an American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries ''Longshot (Marvel Comics), Longshot''. His subsequent inte ...

(issues #1-16, 18-23),

Steve Lightle Steve Lightle (November 19, 1959 – January 8, 2021) was an American comics artist who worked primarily as a penciller. He was best known as the artist of DC Comics' '' Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Doom Patrol'' titles. Biography Steve Light ...

(#30-42, 44-52),

Mike Mignola Mike Mignola (; born September 16, 1960) is an American comics artist and writer best known for creating ''Hellboy'' for Dark Horse Comics, part of a shared universe of titles including ''B.P.R.D.'', '' Abe Sapien'', '' Lobster Johnson'', '' Wit ...

(#57-70), and

Adam Hughes Adam Hughes (born May 5, 1967) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known to American comic book readers for his renderings of pinup-style female characters, and his cover work on titles such as ''Wonder Woman'' and ''Catwoman''. H ...

(issues #71-79).

Collected editions

Trade paperbacks

External links

A brief history of comics in the 1980s during which the Classic X-Men issues were printedThe Comic Book Database
{{X-Comics X-Men titles 1986 comics debuts