X-Men vol. 2 (1992) Marvel

After almost thirty years with Uncanny X-Men as the core book in the X-Universe, Marvel launched a second, adjectiveless flagship X-Men book in 1991. X-Men, Vol. 2 (1991) #11 - Jim Lee's final issue on art. X-Men, Vol. 2 was the biggest possible of comic blockbusters at its launch – it’s first issue remains the highest-selling comic of all time over 25 years after its release! It featured the hottest team in comics battling their most-iconic villain in a gut-wrenchingly awesome story penned by their most-celebrated scribe (Chris Claremont) and with all-new looks from the hottest artist in the industry (Jim Lee). The regular roster was even stacked with fan favorites – Cyclops, Wolverine, Colossus, Gambit, Rogue, and Psylocke! Yet, things were unraveling behind the scenes almost before the book was underway. Claremont departed after issue #3, unhappy with Marvel’s increasing tendency to give their superstar artists like Lee the leeway while rushing writers (a subsequent brief stint by John Byrne ended similarly). Lee lasted for less than a dozen issues before leaving to become a founder of Image Comics. Despite the break-up of that initial creative team team, this volume remained a who’s who of X-creators – Fabian Nicieza scripted nearly half of this volume, followed by brief writing runs by Terry Kavanagh, Joe Casey, and Mark Waid. The book also sustained a strong stable of artists, with Andy Kubert helping to define the look of the early-90s era of X for a third of this run. Claremont would later return for a run, and Alan Davis both wrote and penciled an arc.