Chris Claremont Returns To X-Men

I have a feeling there is going to be some debate over this. You guys are either going to think this is great news or bad news. Chris Claremont made the X-Men a great team. There is no arguing that his classic tales are just that, classic. They still stand the test of time. I could go back and read those and probably enjoy them more than the current stories. Maybe it's a nostalgia thing for me, but they were truly spectacular. For those that haven't read them, I strongly encourage you to at least track down the Essential X-Men books written by Claremont.

Claremont's recent run on New Exiles didn't go over too well. I'll admit that even towards the end of his run on X-Men, there were times that there seemed to be way too many dangling plotlines that never really seemed to get resolved.

Regardless of this, I am excited over this news. Claremont is making his return to the X-Men. On May 20, "X-Men Forever Alpha #1" hits the stands. It will collect X-Men #1-3 (with art by Jim Lee) and also includes a new eight page story by Tom Grummett. There was a little disagreement over the direction of the title after issue #3 (in 1991) which lead to Claremont leaving and John Bryne taking over writing duties. (I believe it had something to do with Claremont wanting to cripple Xavier by having him lose his telepathic powers, something which has happened so what was the fuss all about?) The eight page story will "bridge the gap" between X-Men #3 and X-Men Forever #1 (also drawn by Tom Grummett and in stores on June 10 and issue #2 lands on June 24). The press release says: