X-Books 1991-1999: You had to be there.

After Chris Claremont's departure, the X-franchise became wildly uneven. Age of Apocalypse was well received, showing that our heroes can't catch a break even in a mutant-dominated timeline. Onslaught was just that, an excessive crossover that was long on action but short on the characterization and long-term planning that had made the series successful in the previous decade. Wolverine proved a dominant draw in the grim-and-gritty Copper Age. It was a time of heavy cross hatching and dark colors, responding to the trends established by seven top artists who left Marvel to found their own competitor.