A new mainstream
A new mainstream |
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Page 4 of 23  Pages from X Men (Marvel Comics, 1980). Art: John Byrne. Script: Chris Claremont. An excerpt from one of the most popular story-arcs in the continuity, about the death of 'The Phoenix'. The new X-Men established the 'fan comic' style. The writing, by Chris Claremont, who was fourteen years at the helm, had an engaging level of psychological depth, as well as a complexity that ensured that readers would have to buy every issue to know what was going on: the story lines could sometimes last years. This continuity allowed for the title to 'speak' to its readership. The X-Men were complete personalities whose mutancy could be viewed on as a metaphor for adolescence, race or sexuality. The fact that they fell in love, fell out, got married, gave birth, died and, above all, experienced discrimination from prejudiced humans only added to their appeal. The art, too, was fan-orientated, and names like John Byrne, Marc Silvestri, John Romita Jnr and Jim Lee quickly became new favourites. In this period, the X-Men became the most successful Marvel series ever, and would be much imitated - not least by Marvel themselves. Numerous other teams of Marvel teenage superheroes followed through the 1980s, notably The New Mutants (1983), Alpha Flight (1983) and X-Factor (1986). All were suitably 'fannish', and sold in large quantities, with the first issues becoming 'must-have, double-bag items'. In the face of the Marvel onslaught, other companies were temporarily left standing. Historical rivals DC Comics responded by reviving two teams that had their origins in the 1950s and 1960s. The Legion of Superheroes was resuscitated in 1980, while in the same year the Teen Titans went through an X-Men-style revamp to become The New Teen Titans, as 'Robin', 'Wonder Girl' and 'Kid Flash' were joined by 'Starfire', 'the Changeling', 'the Raven' and 'Cyborg'. This latter title was the main competition to the Marvel line thanks to some outstanding artwork by George Perez.  Pages from American Flagg! (First. 1984). Art/script: Howard Chaykin. Starring future lawman Reuben Flagg, the stories were a satirical mix of Raymond Chandler and Philip K Dick. |