Just learned how many issues the original 'X-Men' run actually had before it got canceled

I was reading an old blog post about comic history and found out the first X-Men series only lasted 66 issues before it got axed in 1970. I always assumed it was a huge hit from the start, but nope, it was actually kind of a flop for years. The blog said sales were so low they almost didn't bring the team back at all. It's wild to think about now, with how massive the X-Men are. Did anyone else think the original run was way longer?

3 comments

3 Comments

nguyen.tara23d ago

The reprint era from 67 to 93 really messes with the timeline.

jamesfox11d agoTop Commenter

Nah, the reprint era is what makes the timeline make sense. It shows how close the book was to being canceled before the comeback.

graceblack23d ago

That blog post is right about the sales, but the 66 issues is a bit of a technicality. It went into reprints for a while after issue 66, so new stories actually stopped at issue 93. The book was basically in reruns until Giant-Size X-Men 1 in 1975 brought the new team. It's a weird piece of comic history that gets smoothed over a lot. The reprint era is why a lot of people think the original run was longer than it was.