So sometime recently, I picked up my copy of The Incredible Hulk #340. As the cover indicates, it’s a battle between Hulk and Wolverine. When that issue came out, I loved the crap out of it. Especially the art. Todd McFarlane did the pencils and ink. I loved his quick, really busy style. But re-reading it now, I really dislike it. The style bothers me. It’s all flash and no meat.

I just finished the first year or so of X-Factor comics that I had. I liked them more than a lot of the stuff I’ve been reading, but they still lacked that… uhm, you know, umph that I wanted.

But last night, I picked up the run of Classic X-Men that I had. I read #16 and loved it. John Byrne penciled the first story (well most of it). John Bolton (not the U.N. Ambassador, natch) penciled the second story. That’s the X-Men I remember. Bolton’s got an interesting style. It’s simple but it stands out. But Byrne’s work… I mean what can you say? It’s just perfect.

ADDENDUM: When I wrote this post I was unsure if Classic X-Men was actually a true reprint of the “new” X-Men written by Claremont. From this site, I got some answers to my questions. Yes, they were reprints but with some new pages added to the original story and an additional brand new story (the Bolton illustrated ones) tacked on to the end. Ah ha. So if I wanted TPBs of “Classic X-Men”, I can just pick up Essential X-Men.