Chris Claremont - COMICSXF https://comicsxf.com The comics criticism you crave Sun, 03 Aug 2025 12:01:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://i0.wp.com/comicsxf.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/cropped-orange-favicon-2.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Chris Claremont - COMICSXF https://comicsxf.com 32 32 107498702 Fantastic Fools? How a Claremont and Byrne cold war put Galactus on trial https://comicsxf.com/2025/08/03/how-a-creator-cold-war-put-galactus-on-trial/ Sun, 03 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=53590 While the Chris Claremont/John Byrne run of Uncanny X-Men is rightly regarded as a creative high water mark for the series, containing some of its best-known and beloved stories (including “Proteus,” “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past”), their run ended somewhat abruptly, with Byrne departing after one-too-many “Colossus ripping up a stump”...

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]]> 53590 In Uncanny X-Men #244, Jubilee is Slimer https://comicsxf.com/2024/10/13/uncanny-xmen-24/ Sun, 13 Oct 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=50389 Editor’s note: Marvel has again graced us with another facsimile edition of a classic X-Men comic, so enjoy this retro look at Jubilee’s first appearance. “Inferno” is over and it’s time for the X-Men — or their female members, at least — to cut loose with a trip to the mall. But prejudice lurks everywhere,...

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]]> 50389 The Marauders got hopes and dreams too in our EXCLUSIVE preview of Wolverine: Deep Cut #4 https://comicsxf.com/2024/09/26/wolverine-deep-cut-4-preview/ Thu, 26 Sep 2024 18:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=50292 Sure, we all know Sabretooth. And thanks to the Krakoan era, we see Greycrow as a much more realized character, full of nuance while also still an unrepentant murderer. But do you ever wonder if any of the other Marauders have hopes and dreams apart from killing? Maybe Harpoon likes to bake. Maybe Vertigo has...

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]]> 50292 The name’s Gambit, remember it: A look back at Uncanny X-Men #266 https://comicsxf.com/2024/08/18/uncanny-xmen-266/ Sun, 18 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=49792 Ed. Note: This is another retro review of a classic comic, sparked by the release of a facsimile edition of Uncanny X-Men #266 and the arrival of a new Uncanny X-Men #1 this week. With a teenage Storm on the run from the Hound-like thralls of the Shadow King, her only ally is a charismatic...

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]]> 49792 Krakoa waves goodbye, and all that’s left are Ashes in X-Men #35/Uncanny #700 https://comicsxf.com/2024/06/05/xmen-35/ Wed, 05 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://comicsxf.com/?p=49150 All good things must come to an end, and as good of a thing as the Krakoan era has been for mutantkind, its time has come at last. The tragedy and triumph of FALL OF THE HOUSE OF X, the madness and mystery of RISE OF THE POWERS OF X, they have all come to...

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]]> 49150 The Uncanny Experience to return for sophomore year https://comicsxf.com/2023/10/16/uncanny-experience-sophomore-year/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 18:38:37 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=46916 If you missed out on the inaugural Uncanny Experience X-Men fan convention earlier this fall, you’ll get another chance to enroll, thanks to the recently announced Uncanny Experience Sophomore Year. Following the success of the first event, which featured a unique mix of traditional comic book convention staples like exclusive variant covers and creator panels...

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]]> 46916 The X-Mansion comes to Minneapolis in the Uncanny Experience https://comicsxf.com/2023/09/25/uncanny-experience/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 12:30:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=46622 When the Uncanny Experience was first announced, I was admittedly skeptical. Part comic book convention, part immersive fan experience, the idea of transforming the venerable Minneapolis Club in downtown Minneapolis into a de facto X-Mansion for a weekend, then inviting fans to come and not just buy merch and listen to creator panels, but enroll...

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]]> 46622 Battle Of The Atom: The Power Of Solar https://comicsxf.com/2023/03/06/battle-of-the-atom-the-power-of-solar/ Mon, 06 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=44966 The rules? They no longer apply to us. We’ve decided to stretch the premise of the podcast past the logical conclusion and into a world where frankly, nothing is ever the same. Looks folks, it’s coming up on six years, we’re deep into our having fun with it era. Ranked This Episode: Incredible Hulk #148...

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]]> 44966 X-Treme X-Men #3 Is Filled With Claremontisms Good and Bad! https://comicsxf.com/2023/02/16/x-treme-x-men-3-is-filled-with-claremontisms-good-and-bad/ Thu, 16 Feb 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=44749 Welcome back to Chicago, where the anti-mutant human pressure group Purity, the anti-mutant super-team Galérer, and the ninja-demon Ogun do their best to wipe out our heroes and take control of Rachel Summers’s Phoenix Force and/or her brain. Will anyone survive the experience? Find out in X-Treme X-Men #3, writing by the inimitable Chris Claremont,...

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]]> 44749 X-Treme X-Men #1 Is Driven by Nostalgia and Promise. https://comicsxf.com/2022/12/08/x-treme-x-men-1-gets-by-on-nostalgia-and-the-promise-of-more/ Thu, 08 Dec 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=44132 Want more tales of Kate (back then, Kitty) Pryde’s time at the University of Chicago? Hoping for more interstitial comics in which Chris Claremont himself tells stories that fill in the gaps in one of the Claremont runs? You’re in luck with X-Treme X-Men (volume three) #1, written by Claremont, art by Salvador Larroca, colors...

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]]> 44132 Gambit #5 Doesn’t Stick the Landing, Mes Amis https://comicsxf.com/2022/11/18/gambit-5-doesnt-stick-the-landing/ Fri, 18 Nov 2022 17:12:03 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=43934 Can Remy Lebeau save the woman he loves, and her mom, and his ward, young ‘Ro, from grotesque intergalactic bounty hunters? Will morally ambiguous space mercenary Bounty (that’s her name) turn out to be a letdown or a quicker picker-upper? Will Chris Claremont wrap up all his plot threads in this miniseries finale? Find out...

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]]> 43934 Thievery and Flirtation Galore in Gambit #4! https://comicsxf.com/2022/10/13/thievery-and-flirtation-galore-in-gambit-4/ Thu, 13 Oct 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=43408 Theft on an old-school riverboat! Big flirty eyes! Red irises! Flying playing cards! Adorable ‘Ro hanging out with a powerful grandma! Yep, it’s Gambit #4, written by Chris Claremont, drawn by Sid Kotian, colors by Espen Grundetjern, letters by Tom Orzechowski VC’s Clayton Cowles, although you could have fooled me. Stephanie Burt: Austin, do you...

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]]> 43408 Gambit #3 a familiar yet fun exploration of superhero haute couture! https://comicsxf.com/2022/09/28/gambit-3-explores-superhero-haute-couture/ Wed, 28 Sep 2022 17:30:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=43186 Gambit and his new ex-marine pal Marissa must rescue young Ororo, along with Marissa’s mom, from a classic hostage situation in a property baron’s mansion on the mighty Mississippi! Plus: snappy answers to costuming questions in Gambit #3, written by Papa Chris Claremont, art by Sid Kotian, colors by Espen Grundetjern, letters by VC’s Clayton...

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]]> 43186 Battle Of The Atom: Giant Spider Baby https://comicsxf.com/2022/09/26/battle-of-the-atom-giant-spider-baby/ Mon, 26 Sep 2022 17:34:49 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=43159 Folks, they say you can never go home again. That has literally, never once, in his entire life, stopped Chris Claremont from trying. We travel to the world of Elsewhen and see all these times creators just, came back and did something weird. X-Men Forever #1-5 X-Factor Forever First X-Men

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]]> 43159 Chris Claremont plays the hits in the fun Gambit #1 https://comicsxf.com/2022/07/29/claremont-plays-the-hits-in-the-nostalgic-but-fun-gambit-1/ Fri, 29 Jul 2022 20:27:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=42296 Who’s that kid who looks so much like Storm, and what is she doing in Cairo… Illinois? Also, Gambit is there. Chris Claremont returns to chronicle a lost adventure of the Rajin’ Cajun in Gambit #1, written by Chris Claremont, art by Sid Kotian, colors by Espen Grundetjern, letters by Clayton Cowles.  Austin Gorton: Marvel’s...

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]]> 42296 Excalibur Begins in X-Men Legends #12 https://comicsxf.com/2022/03/09/excalibur-begins-in-x-men-legends-12/ Wed, 09 Mar 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=38332 Hurt badly in an earlier crossover event, Kate Pryde and Kurt Wagner missed out on “Fall of the Mutants,” believing the rest of their first team, the X-Men, deceased. Instead, the duo remained on Muir Isle, in no shape to fight … until they began the new super-team Excalibur. What happened to Kurt and Kate...

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]]> 38332 Poppa Claremont Returns in Our X-clusive Preview of X-Men Legends #12 https://comicsxf.com/2022/03/03/poppa-claremont-returns-in-our-x-clusive-preview-of-x-men-legends-12/ Thu, 03 Mar 2022 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=38251 Sure, we could talk about how X-Men Legends #12 brings back the X-Menniest X-Men writer to ever X-Men, Chris Claremont, to tell a story about Nightcrawler and Shadowcat in the days between when the X-Men were believed to have died in “Fall of the Mutants” and when Excalibur forms in “The Sword Is Drawn.” And...

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]]> 38251 Battle Of The Atom: 2Chrises2Mas with Chris & Christi Eddleman, Chris Claremont & Larry Hama https://comicsxf.com/2021/12/20/battle-of-the-atom-2chrises2mas-with-chris-christi-eddleman-chris-claremont-larry-hama/ Mon, 20 Dec 2021 14:06:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=36246 Chris and Christi Eddleman join us to celebrate Chrisesmas! Also exclusive interviews with Lethal Larry Hama and Cantankerous Chris Claremont from C2E2!Ranked This Episode: X-Men vol 2 #109 (Christmas) X-Men vol 2 #165 (Christmas) Marvel Holiday Special 2007 “Piece of Cake”

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]]> 36246 Sunday Editorial: The Magic of Con Season https://comicsxf.com/2021/12/19/sunday-editorial-the-magic-of-con-season/ Sun, 19 Dec 2021 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=36188 The following first appeared in the ComicsXF newsletter. You can get early access to our editorials, a roundup of the week’s best content and get to know the members of the ComicsXFamily by subscribing right here. Last weekend I attended C2E2, my first convention since New York in 2019. As I recall moments from the show,...

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]]> 36188 Reading Between the Lines: How Paul Smith’s Fluid Style Made Him the Best X-Men Artist of All https://comicsxf.com/2021/09/09/reading-between-the-lines-how-paul-smiths-fluid-style-made-him-the-best-x-men-artist-of-all/ Thu, 09 Sep 2021 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=33437 Compared to other creators, Paul Smith drew very few issues of the Chris Claremont-Era Uncanny X-Men—ten issues between 165 and 175, and then a single-issue fill in years later, for #278. These weren’t the totality of his contributions; he also drew a few issues of X-Factor and an X-Men/Alpha Flight miniseries, among others, but for...

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]]> 33437 How the Stormy Birth of X-Factor Fractured Chris Claremont’s X-Men https://comicsxf.com/2021/05/10/how-the-stormy-birth-of-x-factor-fractured-chris-claremonts-x-men/ Mon, 10 May 2021 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.comicsxf.com/?p=26504 X-Factor was born during a hurricane. Jackson Guice, the series’ original artist and co-creator, recalled its origins to Comic Book Resources in 2009: The first issue was double-sized. We put it together under the guiding hand of Mike Carlin and the first issue was finished and submitted for final approval to Jim Shooter — who,...

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