The Penguin Classics Marvel Collection presents the origin stories seminal tales and characters of the Marvel Universe to explore Marvel s transformative and timeless influence on an entire genre of fantasy Collects X-Men #1 3 4 5 7 8 14 15 16 38 41 42 44 45 and 46. It is impossible to imagine American popular culture without Marvel Comics. For decades Marvel has published groundbreaking visual narratives that sustain attention on multiple levels: as metaphors for the experience of difference and otherness; as meditations on the fluid nature of identity; and as high-water marks in the artistic tradition of American cartooning to name a few. The seeds of a pop-cultural phenomenon were sown with the launch of the first X-Men comic in 1963 at the height of the Marvel Revolution under the creative team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The title was bookended by some of the best Super Hero comics of that era; the first issue established a creative formula that continues to inspire contemporary creators while the final issues remain acclaimed for the groundbreaking artwork of Neal Adams. This collection gathers several key tales from the original run of the classic X-Men series. A foreword by Rainbow Rowell and scholarly introductions and apparatus by Ben Saunders offer further insight into the enduring significance of the X-Men and classic Marvel comics.