The Classics - X-Men Annual #3

For quite a few years, Marvel celebrated the summer with Annuals - each one loaded with a special story using the company's top talents.

It was a tradition this 1979 annual observed, and even though it's the third in the series, it's the first "new" X-Men Annual - the first two were actually reprints.

For this one, they brought out the big guns - including a still-in-his-prime Chris Claremont as writer, and George Perez and Terry Austin on the art.

The story begins with Arkon, a powerful barbarian from another dimension, invading New York City looking for the Avengers (and specifically, Thor).

But that hero is out of town, so Arkon is forced to go to plan "B," and goes in search of another hero who can control lightning - which brings him to a certain school for gifted students, where a terrific battle ensues - one that spills over into Arkon's homeworld.

The story isn't terribly deep - lots of fighting, humor and misunderstandings to go around - but it's a lot of fun, as Perez gets to go wild piling insane amounts of detail into every panel - and Austin thrives on that kind of art.

The only bad thing about the issue is the printing quality - thankfully, they've come a long ways in terms of clarity and paper stock. But even with those drawbacks, this is a powerful, entertaining story that starts fast and never slows down.

It's a fun issue and it shows off the strength of those annuals - with more pages to work with, the creative team had more room to flex its considerable creative muscles. What fun!

Grade: A

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