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Hello, Marvelites.
You're watching
This Week in Marvel.
And I'm Ryan, a.k.a.
Agent M.
And I'm C.B. Cebulski,
Editor in Chief.
And every month through 2019
we are focusing specifically
on a different
decade for Marvel,
because we're celebrating
our 80th anniversary.
For the 1980s, we're
talking about the X-Men.
You and I both have deep ties,
and the X-Men are our hearts.
Yeah, exactly.
The comics we were
reading growing up.
Here are five X-Men
issues from the 1980s, C.B.
and I think you have to read.
We're going to start
early on with Issue
Number 143, which is a great
Kitty Pryde focused issue.
Chris Claremont and
John Byrne, I mean,
one of the most
amazing creative teams,
with Terry Austin on inks.
Unbelievable.
RYAN PENAGOS: Yeah,
It's really cool.
It's part horror story, part
being alone and finding out
who you are story.
C.B. CEBULSKI: I really think
that John Byrne defined what
the X-Men were with his art.
And we move on from there.
Big shoes to fill, but
fortunately, with Issue Number
168, and he had been on for a
couple of issues before that,
Paul Smith comes in.
And you know what?
Professor Xavier's a jerk.
This one is sort of your
prototypical X-Men issue
drama and then feelings
and all the dynamics
between the characters.
And huge long-term story
building by Chris and Co.
Yeah.
With Kitty, with Lockheed
coming in, with the introduction
of Madelyne Pryor on that last
panel, which was jaw-dropping
when you were reading
that back then,
there was so much
that got introduced.
OK.
We're going to jump
to Issue Number 181.
C.B. CEBULSKI: Young
Dragons in Love.
There's one particular
character you say John
Romita Jr. really excels at.
C.B. CEBULSKI: Colossus.
Just the way that he made
him, gave him the mask,
but he moved like a cat.
And he was just so
quick on his feet.
RYAN PENAGOS: You
also have Lockheed,
who is a personal favorite
of ours, falling in love
and breaking some
hearts at the same time.
C.B. CEBULSKI: Yeah.
And then just a couple of
months later, we go to 186.
This one is LifeDeath,
A Love Story.
Chris Claremont,
Barry Windsor-Smith.
Barry Windsor-Smith.
He only did a handful
of X-Men issues,
but left his mark on
these characters in such
an indelible way in
the minds and hearts
of fans over the decades.
And then we're going to jump
a little bit further ahead.
I'm going with
uncanny X-Men 242.
Chris was able to
take the plot points
that he's been
developing for so long
and bring everything to a boil.
And, thankfully, he had
Marc Silvestri with him.
He evolved a lot of the
looks and the grit of what
those X-Men stories could be.
C.B. CEBULSKI: People
remember so many
different characters
that Marc redesigned
or brought new costumes to.
He made such an impact
on fans, visually,
in that run, which
is rather extensive
when you think about it.
Yeah.
C.B. And I talk about
a lot of X-Men stuff
and a lot of Marvel in the
80s in the podcast version
of This Week in Marvel on the
new reading club for the 1980s.
Check that out.
And then we'll be back
with the 90s next month.
I'm Ryan.
- And I'm C.B.
And this is Marvel.
Your universe.
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