My first post will be about what started this lifelong love. What was my first comic book? The image of Colossus burning on the cover of Uncanny X-Men 116 jumps to the top of my mind. This is the issue that started it all for me. I was a little kid combing through the magazines in front of the soda fountain at my hometown drug store when I saw the issue – only 35 cents! While my mom was picking up prescriptions I was mesmerized by the X-Men’s adventure in the Savage Land!
The images of Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Zabu braving the icy winds, dinosaurs and army of cult followers to rescue Colossus, Cyclops, Banshee and Ka-Zar from Garokk took hold of young imagination and wouldn’t let go.
I love everything about this issue but the most memorable thing is Storm. Ororo was the most beautiful image I’d ever seen. So what if she was wearing a bathing suit in the Antarctic? Chris Claremont and John Byrne demonstrated the tremendous power and childlike vulnerability. Ororo has grown one into the most formidable characters in the Marvel Universe but I will never forget her eyes after what happened* in the pit under Garrok’s temple.
Thanks to Marvel, Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin for my first comic, igniting a little kid’s imagination and lifelong love of comics.
(*I’m still new to blogging but I know this but I do know better than to give away a key story development to potential new readers!) By Editor
Very nice intro – thanks for sharing this. The first comic that captured my pre-teen imagination was the X-Men graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. It seemed so noble that these mutants fought to defend the very people who hated them, who persecuted them (especially Nightcrawler who was cursed to resemble our image of a demon.) All the good deeds of conventional heroes would be rewarded with glory and adoration, but the best the mutants could hope for was tolerance. (And I had a crush on Kitty Pryde, who wasn’t all that much older than me.) The first issue I collected was 171 (the one where Rogue joined the team.) I was lucky to start collecting at about the time when Mark Gruenwald was putting together his Official Guides, they filled in the many, many back-stories I’d missed in the first 40+ years of Marvel comics.
Thanks for checking out my blog and for sharing your first comic. “God Loves, Man Kills” was really moving. Nightcrawler became my favorite X-Man. I loved Kitty Pryde in her Shadowcat period. Do you know that Kitty and Logan are co-headmasters at the Jean Grey Academy for Higher Learning? Logan went back to Westchester and rebuilt the school. I had those Official Guides too, they were classic. I’ve been thinking of having some posts with bios of my favorite characters kind of like that. I’d appreciate any feedback and welcome your suggestions. Take care, Will
I remember this one clearly. The cover was what drew me to it as well. Red Hot Colossus, who was my favorite at the time. I was a scrawny 7th grader at the time and Pietr was the anti-scrawny guy.
My first comment! Thanks Mitch!