Generation X (comic book)

Last updated
Generation X
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Format Ongoing series
Genre Superhero
Main character(s) Generation X

Generation X is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team the Generation X and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original Generation X comic book series which debuted in 1994.

Contents

Generation X debuted during the 1994 "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, and appeared in their own monthly series in September 1994 with Generation X #1 (November 1994). [1]

Generation X consisted of teenage mutants designed to reflect the cynicism and complexity of the series' namesake demographic. [2]

The book's original creators left it in 1997. The series was cancelled with issue #75 in 2001. Sixteen years after the original series had ended, a second volume debuted in 2017 as part of ResurrXion with Jubilee mentoring a group of students in the rechristened Xavier Institute.

Publication history

Many members of Generation X debuted during the "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, a crossover spanning across every X-Men-related comic book in the summer of 1994. [3] The Phalanx, an extraterrestrial collective intelligence attempted to absorb many of Earth's mutants into its matrix and captured several of the young mutants who would make up Generation X as "practice" before moving on to the X-Men. [4]

In September of that year, Generation X #1 was published, establishing the team at Frost's Massachusetts Academy. It also introduced their nemesis Emplate, a vampire-like mutant who sucked the bone marrow of young mutants. [5] As the series continued, fans and critics raved about Bachalo's quirky, complex artwork and Lobdell's realistic teenage characters. The series soon became one of the most popular X-Books.[ citation needed ]

Lobdell and Bachalo departed in 1997, leaving writer Larry Hama and artist Terry Dodson to reveal the long-standing mysteries behind M, Penance and Emplate. Hama revealed that M was in fact an amalgamation of Monet St. Croix's two younger sisters, who could merge as part of their mutant powers (one was autistic, explaining the trances); Emplate was their brother who, after experimenting with black magic, was caught in a strange limbo and needed mutant bone marrow to escape; and Penance was the actual Monet St. Croix, transformed under one of Emplate's spells. All of this was revealed in a surreal, mystic epic in Generation X #35–40 (1997–1998) that was greeted with disapproval by most fans (Lobdell's original plan had involved the twins, but did not include a "real" Monet).[ citation needed ]

The saga ended with the actual Monet St. Croix taking on the role of M, but fans' reactions did not get much better and sales began to dip.[ citation needed ] Hama's successor, Jay Faerber, attempted to revive the title, bringing in a regular human student population at the school and making Emma's sister Adrienne Frost another headmistress in Generation X #50 (1999).

In 2000, writer Warren Ellis, known for his dark, sarcastic style, was hired to revamp Generation X, as part of the Counter-X rebranding of several second-tier X-titles (the others being X-Force and X-Man ). Ellis acted as 'plotmaster', while Brian Wood handled the actual scripting chores and later acted as sole writer of the series. Fan response was positive, largely because Ellis and Wood dealt with the teenaged cast without resorting to cliché.[ citation needed ] However, in early 2001, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada cancelled Generation X, in addition to five other X-Books, arguing that so many mutant superhero books had become redundant.[ citation needed ] Also, X-Men writer Grant Morrison wanted to add a new cast of teenage mutants to the Xavier Institute in New York. In Generation X #75, the team disbanded and the Massachusetts Academy closed. [6]

Publications

List of titles

Collected editions

First Series

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
The Origin of Generation X Generation X #1; Cable #16; Excalibur #82; The Uncanny X-Men #316- 317; Wolverine #85; X-Factor #106; X-Force #38; X-Men #36–37June 2001 978-0785102168
Generation X Classic: Vol. #1 Generation X #1–4; The Uncanny X-Men #316- 318; X-Men #36–37December 2010 978-0785149675
Generation X Classic: Vol. #2 Generation X #5–11; Generation X Annual '95; Generation X San Diego PreviewJanuary 2013 978-0785166863
Generation X Epic Collection: Back To SchoolUncanny X-Men (1981) 316-318, X-Men (1991) 36-37, Generation X (1994) 1-9, Wolverine (1988) 94, Generation X Collectors' Preview (1994) 1, Generation X Ashcan Edition (1994) 1August 2021 978-1302930769
Generation X Epic Collection: Emplate's RevengeGeneration X (1994) 10-23, Generation X Annual '95-'96, Generation X San Diego Preview (1994) 1, material from Incredible Hulk Annual '97May 2022 978-1302946494
Generation X Epic Collection: The Secret of MGeneration X (1994) 23-32, Generation X Annual '97, Generation X Underground (1994) 1, X-Men Unlimited #16, Spider-Man Team-Up #1, Daydreamers #1-3June 2023
Generation X Epic Collection: Pride and PenanceGeneration X 33-47, 1/2, Generation X/DraculaAnnual '98; X-Men Unlimited #20; Generation X Christmas SpecialJune 2024
X-Men: Operation Zero ToleranceGeneration X #26–31, X-Force vol. 1 #67–70, X-Men #65–70, Uncanny X-Men #346, Wolverine #115–118, Cable #45–47, X-Man #30August 2012 0785162402
Counter-X Vol. 2Generation X #63–70September 2008 978-0785133056
Counter-X: Generation X – Four Days Generation X #71–75February 2013 978-0785167303

Second Series

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
Generation X, Volume 1: Natural SelectionGeneration X #1–6November 14, 2017Paperback: 978-1302907365
Generation X, Volume 2: Survival of the Fittest Generation X #6–9, #85–87April 3, 2018Paperback: 978-1302907372

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References

  1. ↑ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 146. ISBN   978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. ↑ Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 270. ISBN   978-1465455505.
  3. ↑ Cronin, Brian. Look Back: The Phalanx Covenant Introduced the World to Generation X . CBR: Comic Book Resources. Original date: July 31, 2019. Retrieved: April 18, 2021.
  4. ↑ Uncanny X-Men #316–317, X-Men #36–37
  5. ↑ Generation X #1
  6. ↑ Generation X #75
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