In the late ’80s and early ’90s, it was mandatory at Marvel that any word that started with an “E” was to be replaced with an “X” in the title of a new story arc or new series.
And among the many uses of this tried-and-true sales trick, “X-Cutioner’s Song” is one that fans remember best.
The “X-Citing” Epic Collection of the same name (originally published in 2019) contains The Uncanny X-Men #289-296, X-Men #10-16, X-Factor #84-86 and X-Force #16-18 from the height of the craze (1992-93).
The stories in X-Cutioner’s Song Epic Collection are provided by Scott Lobdell, Jim Lee, Fabian Nicieza, and Peter David, with art by Lee, Whilce Portacio, Tom Raney, Rurik Tyler, Brandon Peterson, Art Thibert, Andy Kubert, Jae Lee, Greg Capullo, Mark Texeira, Scott Williams, Hilary Barta, Joe Rubinstein, Al Milgrom, Bob Wiacek, Dan Panosian, Karl Altstaetter, Trevor Scott, Mark Pennington, Al Milgrom, Harry Candelario, and Terry Austin.
The main storyline of the “X-Over” begins with the kidnapping of Cyclops and Phoenix and the assassination of Charles Xavier by Cable of all people, forcing The X-Men, X-Factor and X-Force to battle it out around the globe and the moon! Popular X-foes Mister Sinister, Apocalypse, and Stryfe (another fine example of ’90s villain names and spelling) lurk in the background as all Hell breaks loose in mutant-land.
Speaking of sentences, we don’t normally include copy from the official solicitations, but this description of the collection was too good to pass up: “Featuring blood, angst, sacrifice and great big guns as Marvel’s mutant families dance to the villains’ twisted tune!”
The X-Men: X-Cutioner’s Song Epic Collection consists of 520 pages for a suggested retail price of $49.99.
Look for the cover by Lee and Bob Wiacek at your local comic shop on December 14.
