In the mid-70s, the X-Men were a largely forgotten team of teenage mutants, relegated to the back issue section of the comics store. With the release of Giant-Sized X-Men #1, that all changed. The revamped X-Men were a powerful mix of old and new that became the colossus of comics, taking the world of super-heroes by storm!

Journey back with Steven and Tom to this first wave of X-mania, during the initial collaboration between Chris Claremont (writer) and Dave Cockrum (artist). Even if you're not a comic book fan, there are great lessons for all forms of popular culture in this classic period of the X-Men, which remains popular to this day.

Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!

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© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 16: The Uncanny X-Men!