Uncanny X-Men #275 isn’t the best comic ever produced.
Hell, it’s not even close to being the best X-Men comic ever produced.
But it does hold a special place in my heart as being one of those comics I was obsessed with as a kid.
Understand, I came into X-Men comics at the tail end of the epic Chris Claremont run. The very tail end, to be exact as that run in adjective-less X-Men was the first complete arc I ever read. His swansong was my opening number.
So I did a lot backtracking when it came to his run and one of my first stops was Uncanny X-Men #275.
For some reason, my local comic shop charged something like $20 for that issue. I guess I could do some research and find out of that was a common practice for that issues or if it was just one lone comic shop owner taking advantage that Jim Lee fella all the kids were crazy about.
 |
| “I promise guys, I’m never leaving Marvel…” |
Either way, it wasn’t something I was immediately able to buy. Being on the cusp of teenagerdom and relying on mom and dad to support a comic habit, $20 may as well have been $20,000.
On the wall it hung for the longest time, that cover with Wolverine, Gambit, Forge, Jubilee, Psylocke and Banshee all dressed not in their typical costumes but in the original yellow and gold of the first X-Men.
That they weren’t in they usual costumes was captivating to me. Why were they dressed like that?
Why weren’t they still dressed like that?
So many questions and this being well before the Internet would take hold, not many avenues to find an answer. (Asking the older clientele of the shop wasn’t something I was interested in as most of them tended to be, well, assholes.)
It didn’t help matters that shortly after I became obsessed with owning this particular issue, the shop either bought or had made a heavy-duty cardboard poster of that issue. It was huge and hung on the wall opposite that issue. Before I was obsessed. Once that poster showed up? Forget obsession. We were now in full on madness territory.
I don’t know how long it was before I was able to pick up that issue. At the time I would have told you it had been years but in reality it was probably only a matter of a few months. But I was finally able to purchase Uncanny X-Men #275 and, once back home, comic in hand, I ran into my room and tore into what I knew was going to be the greatest comic I ever produced by god or man.
It was… okay. It wasn’t a standalone story and I wasn’t entirely able to piece together what was happening.
And of course I hadn’t bought the proceeding or preceding issues so it would be a while before I got the whole story.
But that didn’t matter. I had finally attained this one thing that had eluded me for what seemed like a lifetime.
The quest was over.
The Grail was attained.
To this day, now 24 years removed from that summer long obsession, Uncanny X-Men #275 still holds a special place in my heart.
No, I’ve not warmed to the story because, no, it hasn’t aged all that well.
Even Jim Lee’s art, which had been the initial draw all those years ago, looks a little dated these days, despite the intricate line work and meticulous cross hatching.
What has aged well, though, is the strong sense of nostalgia I get whenever I see that fold-out cover with the X-Men decked out in the classic blue and gold.
Every single time, my gut stirs just a little and for a second I feel like I’m right back on the quest once again.
