Formative adventures of the original X-Men!Join Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel and Iceman in adventures from the days when Marvel’s merry mutants were the quirkiest quintet in comics and not yet than the worldwide wunderkinds they are today! This Epic Collection presents early classics including the first appearance of Banshee; the brief tenure of the sixth X-Man, Mimic; the complete Factor Three saga; the “Origins of the X-Men” feature exploring Professor X’s formation of the team; and the debut of new costumes. Then the X-Men’s lives take their most tragic turn as their leader, Charles Xavier, is killed!COLLECTING: X-Men (1963) #24-45, Avengers (1963) #53; material from Not Brand Echh (1967) #4, 8Written by Roy Thomas & Gary FriedrichPenciled by Werner Roth, Jack Sparling, Dan Adkins, Ross Andru, Don Heck, George Tuska, John Buscema & Tom Sutton
Contributors: (W) Roy Thomas; Gary Friedrich (A) Werner Roth; Jack Sparling (CA) John Buscema
Roy Thomas joined the Marvel Bullpen as a writer and editor under Stan Lee, scripting key runs of nearly every title of the time: Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner, Thor, X-Men and more. He wrote the first 10 years of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword of Conan; and launched such series as Defenders, Iron Fist, Invaders and Warlock. At DC, he developed All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc. and related titles, proving instrumental in reviving the Golden Age Justice Society of America. Thomas later became editor of Alter Ego, a magazine devoted to comic-book history, and co-scripted the sword-and-sorcery films Fire and Ice and Conan the Destroyer.Guaranteed immortality for introducing Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider, Gary Friedrich also played a pivotal role in Marvel’s 1970s Western and war comics, penning memorable tales of Sgt. Fury and launching the Marine series Captain Savage. In addition, Friedrich wrote issues of Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, X-Men and more. With Steve Ditko, he co-created Charlton’s Blue Beetle, now a DC character. With Len Brown, he has written a series of books on popular music.