sum1

Cover of Giant-Size X-Men 1:

http://comicbookdb.com/graphics/comi...1537_large.jpg

The franchise was kind of reborn with this issue, which introduced Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Thunderbird and added Wolverine to the roster as well, along with Banshee.

That came out in 1975. For 5 years before that (issues 67-93), the main X-Men comic was just a reprint title, reprinting old adventures from the 1960s. The revival of the title in 1975 (after Giant Sized it went to issue 94 of the main comic) was a success and soon classic creators Chris Claremont and John Byrne joined the title and went on to make it one of Marvel's most successful.

PhoenixRising

Thanks, sum1. I actually remember when that came out. I saw ads for those comics when I was reading my Spider-Man, Avengers, and Fantastic Four comics from the 70's. They marketed it as the "Old X-Men," with a drawing of the 60's team in their old outfits, and the "New X-Men," with the new members alongside the remaining original members in their new outfits. Jean's change in appearance was the most noticeable. I was like, WOW!

sum1

That semi-reboot is legend. Compare it to the horrible things Marvel comics has done to the X-Men storyline in the comics this century. Things sure went downhill. 2012's Avengers vs X-Men series comes to mind. The total destruction of Cyclops as a character.

PhoenixRising

Yeah, I got the impression that Marvel was trying to have the X-Men able to compete against the Avengers, hence the added roster and costume changes. Before, they were more like the Fantastic Four, with their five core members and matching black & gold uniforms.

sum1

Blue and yellow, not black and gold.

PhoenixRising

Really? They looked black and yellow to me. Kitty Pryde also had the same uniform, as did the New Mutants. I think the artists often shaded them blue because black was difficult to draw against a background with any definition, but they often did show the uniforms as being black and yellow.

Oh, and here's the picture I was telling you about from the advertisements I saw in comics from the 70's about the transition from the old X-Men to the new X-Men. Notice the black and yellow uniforms.



And of course, FF shrunk the image.

sum1

The colours of the outfits have been portrayed differently at different times. I've often seen them clearly portrayed with blue.

Got to go to the image's page to see the full size:

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20130524061932

Wolverine has a beer. Already.

PhoenixRising

I already saw the full image, sum1. And the link you gave me just shrinks it again.

Yeah, I noticed the beer in his hand when I was a kid. I also noticed the tombstone with Thunderbird's name on it. I thought that sucked, that they killed him off so soon, like a sacrificial lamb. But I also noticed(back when I was barely 9 or 10) that the X-writers seemed to be trying to make the X-Men look more like the Avengers with the diversified roster and more elaborate costumes.

sum1

You saw the full image, but others may not have. And the link works fine for me.

Marvel was trying to make the X-Men interesting in the mid-'70s, which frankly they hadn't been before then, which is why the title was reduced to a reprint title for the first half of the '70s. My real interest in the X-Men starts with the arrival of the new team. As regards the old team, I can take them or leave them. I wouldn't be an X-Men fan if Marvel had stuck with that team.

PhoenixRising

Really? I still see the shrunken version in the link. Oh well, it doesn't matter.

Yeah, X-Men weren't a big seller back in the 60's and 70's compared to Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and Spider-Man. I think the sales really took off in the 80's during the Days of Future Past and Dark Phoenix storyline, and by the end of the 80's X-Men became their biggest seller. And Marvel did stick with most of the original team, sum1. Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Iceman stuck with the team for the most part. Beast left to join the Avengers and Angel went on hiatus for a while.

sum1

Iceman left the team in 1975 too. Both him and Angel moved to the Champions.

PhoenixRising

He did? Damn. I thought for sure Bobby was there for the Dark Phoenix thing. I do remember Bobby and Warren trying to form a new Defenders team with Hank after he left the Avengers.

sum1

Iceman wasn't in he X-Men during the Dark Phoenix Saga, but Angel was. However, the Dark Phoenix Saga was published 5 years after the X-Men were restarted in 1975, so there was a good long time in between. For most of it, Angel was gone, and he was gone again after the beginning of the '80s.

In the '80s, Angel, Beast and Iceman were on the Defenders. Before they were in X-Factor.

PhoenixRising

Again, I really didn't follow X-Men until X-Factor came along. I did follow Beast when he was in the Avengers.

Yeah, I do remember in the early 80's that Beast, Angel, and Iceman were with the Defenders, although there seemed to be two separate teams, as Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Silver Surfer, and Doctor Strange were still the main foursome in that comic, which Beast, Angel, and Iceman were attempting to legitimize the Defenders as an actual team on the level of The Avengers and Fantastic Four. Hank even tried recruiting Vision and Scarlet Witch during their time away from the Avengers, with no luck.

sum1

You missed out on a lot of good stuff by not reading the '80s X-Men.

About late '85 the Defenders went defunct and X-Factor was started.