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- Jun 13, 2006
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There are some big anniversaries this year, and while the world in general should be remembering JFK; the British Television and SFX fans in general are fixated on Doctor Who (and why not?)
But in September/October 1963 Marvel Comics, expanding rapidly were determined to build on the groundwork they had laid with works such as The Avengers, Fantastic 4 and Spider-Man. The core of the creative team were Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and they were the driving force behind Marvel.
It looked as though everything they threw out was a success and the template they set for the way they worked was changing the industry but...
...character origins were becoming harder to find, with what DC had, through to their own cosmic rays and radioactive spiders they needed something new and fresh.
The answer was: what if they just had their powers. What if it was a natural process. The next step in human evolution.
An easy get out clause perhaps, but it was one that worked. Setting them as young students in a school was the icing on the cake. After all most kids feel alienated and that the whole world is against them, that they are misunderstood and different in some way.
A sure fire hit.
So it was the X-Men were born. They were not a sure fire hit. In fact they struggled from the start, being cancelled in the mid sixties. But they returned in the mid 1970's and under the creative talents of Chris Claremont became the best selling comic book in the world and spawned an entire sub section of the Marvel Universe.
But in September/October 1963 Marvel Comics, expanding rapidly were determined to build on the groundwork they had laid with works such as The Avengers, Fantastic 4 and Spider-Man. The core of the creative team were Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and they were the driving force behind Marvel.
It looked as though everything they threw out was a success and the template they set for the way they worked was changing the industry but...
...character origins were becoming harder to find, with what DC had, through to their own cosmic rays and radioactive spiders they needed something new and fresh.
The answer was: what if they just had their powers. What if it was a natural process. The next step in human evolution.
An easy get out clause perhaps, but it was one that worked. Setting them as young students in a school was the icing on the cake. After all most kids feel alienated and that the whole world is against them, that they are misunderstood and different in some way.
A sure fire hit.
So it was the X-Men were born. They were not a sure fire hit. In fact they struggled from the start, being cancelled in the mid sixties. But they returned in the mid 1970's and under the creative talents of Chris Claremont became the best selling comic book in the world and spawned an entire sub section of the Marvel Universe.
