iceman – Coke ⊕ Comics

X-Men #27

Re-enter: The Mimic!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: October 11, 1966
Cover: December 1966
12 cents
Edited by Stan Lee
Scripted by Roy Thomas
Drawn by Werner Roth
Inked by Dick Ayers
Lettered by Sam Rosen (Wouldja believe Artie Simek?)
20 pages

Previous	#636	Next
Fantastic Four #60	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #37
X-Men #26	X-Men	X-Men #28

…as long as there are evil mutants abroad in the world, the X-Men must remain vigilant!

Recall last issue ended with Cyclops accidentally (or so he claims) injuring Angel. Meanwhile, Jean Grey ran into Cal Rankin at Metro College. Cal Rankin had fought the X-Men as Mimic, but he doesn’t recall the encounter because Professor X futzed with his brain.

We pick up with the X-Men battling Mimic again, now seeming to recall their last encounter. After the in media res opening, we see how we got here.

X-Men #26

Holocaust!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: September 1, 1966
Cover: November 1966
12 cents
Editing.. Stan Lee
Script.. Roy Thomas
Art… Werner Roth
Inks.. Dick Ayers
Lettering… Sam Rosen
Mayan headdresses… Irving Forbush
20 pages

Previous	#613	Next
X-Men #25	Reading order	Strange Tales #150
X-Men #25	X-Men	X-Men #27

I hate to sound like a poor man’s Hawkeye, but I can’t seem to stop myself! Why should Jean prefer Scott over me?

Last issue, the gem-hunter El Tigre found a pendant which transformed him into the Mayan feathered-serpent god Kukulcán. He now has the power of the sun. Which sounds pretty powerful.

This seems to be basically what happened to Don Blake. He found a mystic artifact and now finds himself the avatar for a god.

X-Men #25

The Power and the Pendant!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: August 2, 1966
Cover: October 1966
12 cents
Edited by: Stan Lee
Scripted by: Roy Thomas
Illustrated by: Werner Roth
Inked by: Dick Ayers
Lettered by: Sam Rosen
Imitated by: Brand Echh
20 pages

Previous	#612	Next
Fantastic Four Annual 4	Reading order	X-Men #26
X-Men #24	X-Men	X-Men #26

Come back an’ fight, ya crummy mutant!

At some point, we are faced with the question, are all these heroes interchangeable, or are their distinctions amongst the titles, making some stories more suitable for one title than another.

There are hints here of what I think the X-Men are about. Moments.

X-Men #24

The Plague of… The Locust!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: June 30, 1966
Cover: September 1966
12 cents
Editing by: Stan (Busy Bee) Lee
Script by: Roy (Bookworm) Thomas
Art by: Werner (Worker-ant) Roth
Inking by: Dick (Doodlebug) Ayers
Lettering by: Sam (Pussycat) Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#551	Next
Fantastic Four #54	Reading order	Thor Annual 2
X-Men #23	X-Men	X-Men #25

“Grow! Grow! Grow! Let not one X-Man survive!”
“Now, how does a rational person argue with sentiments like those?”

As we learned last issue, Jean is leaving the X-Men to go to college. She’ll be at Metro College, the same college as Johnny Storm. We just saw that Johnny Storm was on school break with Wyatt Wingfoot, and using that break to travel to the Great Refuge to try to free the Inhumans.

The Narrator notes Johnny and Wyatt are in the Himalayas. Last we saw them, they were traveling from Wakanda in Africa and on their way to the Great Refuge, which had been in the Andes, not the Himalayas. Perhaps they got lost.

X-Men #23

To Save a City

Featuring: X-Men
Release: June 2, 1966
Cover: August 1966
12 cents
Edited in ecstacy by Stan Lee
Written in rapture by Roy Thomas
Drawn in delight by Werner Roth
Delineated in depth by Dick Ayers
Lettered in a lawn-chair by Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous	#529	Next
	POSTLUDE	Marvels #3
X-Men #22	Reading order	Daredevil #18
X-Men #22	X-Men	X-Men #24

It is only in this form, in which I have no solid substance, that I can know anything like the thrill of walking again!

Werner Roth had been referring to himself as “Jay Gavin” these last several issues. But now he’s ready to use his real name in the credits.

We pick up where last issue left off, with the X-Men prisoners of Count Nefaria and the new Maggia, with lieutenants picked from an assortment of titles.

Now Nefaria executes his plan, holding Washington DC hostage, blackmailing America, and framing the X-Men.

X-Men #22

Divided– We Fall!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: May 3, 1966
Cover: July 1966
12 cents
Editor emeritus: Stan Lee
Script by: Roy Thomas
Art by: Jay Gavin
Inking by: Dick Ayers
Lettering by: Artie Simek
Colosso by: Irving Forbush Robotics, Inc.
20 pages

Previous	#528	Next
Sgt. Fury #31	Reading order	X-Men #23
X-Men #21	X-Men	X-Men #23

And, we did it as a team! No one of us could have done it alone!

The cover shows quite the assemblage of super-villains, with the X-Men reduced to floating heads.

As noted before (such as in the last X-Men arc), I find it interesting when super-villains treated as major threats upon their debut get relegated to henchman status. This starts to get them categorized as miscellaneous villains, but at least keeps them from being forgotten.

The story begins in the Danger Room, the most common place for an X-Men story to begin, then as now. Professor X has created a robot named Colosso for the X-Men to fight. And the robot was created to teach a very particular lesson. He can counter all the powers of the individual X-Men, but they can beat him as a team.

X-Men #21

From Whence Comes… Dominus?

Featuring: X-Men
Release: April 5, 1966
Cover: June 1966
12 cents
Exemplary editing by: Stan Lee
Extraordinary writing by: Roy Thomas
Exceptional art by: Jay Gavin
Exhilarating inking by: Dick Ayers
Exasperating lettering by: Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous	#526	Next
X-Men #20	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #31
X-Men #20	X-Men	X-Men #22

We are now preparing to engage the enemy in his own lair– and it is always there that he is most dangerous!

Porter Mack runs the local dude ranch and thinks there may be a reward if his men capture the X-Men.

They are outmatched.

This is an example of the anti-mutant sentiment, which would make a better focus for these stories than alien invasions.

X-Men #20

I, Lucifer

Featuring: X-Men
Release: March 3, 1966
Cover: May 1966
12 cents
Expertly edited by: Stan Lee
Skillfully scripted by: Roy Thomas
Perfectly penciled by: Jay Gavin
Ideally inked by: Dick Ayers
Laxly lettered by: Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous	#525	Next
Sgt. Fury #30	Reading order	X-Men #21
X-Men #19	X-Men	X-Men #21

As usual, a mob seldom makes the right decision!

With this issue, Roy Thomas takes over as regular writer on The X-Men, a position he will hold for the next two years. Some sources suggest Stan gave a writing assist on this and the next issue, but Stan is only credited as Editor. (Of course, even as editor, Stan’s credit goes first.)

It begins with fake X-Men, villains seeking to ruin their reputation.

As Mark had previously noted in comments, you can spot the villains by the smoking of cigarettes.

Heroes smoke pipes.

X-Men #19

Lo! Now Shall Appear– The Mimic!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: February 3, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jay Gavin
Inking: Dick Ayers
Lettering: Artie Simek
(All that, and Forbush too!)
20 pages

Previous	#475	Next
Daredevil #15	Reading order	Amazing Spider-Man #36
X-Men #18	X-Men	X-Men #20

The danger is clear– the task is yours– the moment is now!

This Irving Forbush fellow was mentioned in the last Daredevil post as well. What’s that about?

X-Men #10-18 took place over a very short span of time, with one adventure right after the other, likely knocking out of alignment with the other titles. There is now a big gap before this adventure, which hopefully brings us closer to alignment. The X-Men are healed from the battle against the Sentinels. Cerebro has been rebuilt.

Bobby and Zelda seem to be going steady now, so Zelda is setting Hank up with her friend Vera so they can have a double date. Prior to the blind date, Hank stops at the library and meets a woman… and they do not get along at all.

Guess who his date turns to be?

The already fraught romantic situation heats up when Calvin Rankin shows up. He’s basically a stalker who has been pressuring Vera to go out with him and refusing to take no for an answer. Well, he’s angry to find her out with another man and conflict ensues.

X-Men #17

…And None Shall Survive!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: December 12, 1965
Cover: February 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Layouts: J. Kirby
Pencils: Jay Gavin
Inks: Dick Ayers
Lettering: A. Simek
20 pages

Previous	#469	Next
Sgt. Fury #27	Reading order	X-Men #18
X-Men #16	X-Men	X-Men #18

Somehow, when I’m high in the sky this way, I feel there is no danger I cannot face– no problem I cannot solve– no enemy I cannot defeat!! Everything seems clean– and pure– and right! The way it ought to be! The way it must be one day, if man is ever to fulfill his promise– his glorious destiny!

I quite like the red glow of the cover. The cover warns me not to spoil the ending, but, well, I’m gonna do that anyway. Be warned.

Thoughts on the reading order. When books are published is a key factor, as is the order in which characters appear, as are story-arcs. What I’m not considering closely is the calendar date within the stories, as I don’t often know. We paused our X-Men reading because the Sentinels story ended and the next one was about to begin. This gave us a chance to catch up on other titles.

But this story begins the same day as the Sentinels story ended. Similarly, the X-Men had fought the Stranger and Juggernaut on the same day, with a short gap of time while the X-Men were injured between these momentous days.

In particular, it must now be within a couple days of Reed and Sue’s wedding, while most of our stories have jumped forward a bit more from that day.

While it’s been more than a year since the Stranger story was published, it’s only been a few weeks for the X-Men.