X-Men Companion I — Fantagraphics 1982 Interviews

The X-Men Companion I (1982, Fantagraphics Books) — the magazine-sized oral history of Marvel’s mutants, edited by Peter Sanderson, with four major creator interviews and Michael Golden cover art. A key piece of Bronze Age comics scholarship.

QUICK FACTS

• Editor: Peter Sanderson
• Design: Peppy White (cover color separations by P. White)
• Cover Art: Michael Golden
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books, Inc., Stamford CT
• Year: 1982 (first printing, March 1982)
• Format: Magazine-sized softcover, 8.5 x 11 in., B&W interiors
• Pages: ~124 | Cover price: $4.95 ($5.95 Canada)
• Condition: Very Good (full report below)

WHAT IT IS

Published by Fantagraphics Books in early 1982, The X-Men Companion I is a tabloid-sized interview magazine devoted entirely to the X-Men, gathering first-hand commentary from the creators who shaped the series. Editor Peter Sanderson, then an up-and-coming comics journalist, conducts in-depth conversations with the writers who defined the team across its two great eras: Roy Thomas (the original Marvel revival), Dave Cockrum (co-creator of the all-new, all-different team), Len Wein, and Chris Claremont (the long-running architect of the modern X-Men). It also includes a history of the team, “Mutatis Mutandis: The History of the X-Men,” and previously unpublished artwork by John Byrne.

THE INTERVIEWS

Vision of the contents page confirms the four interview sections and their page ranges: Roy Thomas (p. 30), Len Wein (p. 44), Dave Cockrum (p. 52), and Chris Claremont (p. 88). The discussions range from plotting sessions and character origins to the pressures of Marvel’s collaborative house style — with Cockrum recalling his work on the new X-Men, the Sentinels, and the original redesigns. Richard Sanderson’s questions draw out candid behind-the-scenes detail about the Bronze Age revolution of the 1970s X-Men.

THIS EDITION

This is the first printing (March 1982) of Fantagraphics’ original X-Men Companion I, with a Michael Golden cover and glossy color cover art over black-and-white interiors. The copyright page credits Fantagraphics Books, Inc. and notes the X-Men characters are © 1982 Marvel Comics Group. Issued at the $4.95 cover price ($5.95 in Canada), it is the magazine-format form that predates the later X-Men Companion collected editions.

COVER ART

The cover by Michael Golden depicts the X-Men — including Wolverine, Cyclops, Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Jean Grey — locked in battle with a towering Sentinel mutant-hunter. Rendered in Golden’s distinctive early-1980s style, it stands as one of the iconic X-Men team images of the era and is consistently featured in reprint collections.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The first dedicated X-Men interview magazine — a foundational document of Bronze Age fandom and a time capsule of the run that made the X-Men central to Marvel.
• Candid interviews from four pivotal writers, including the full span of the classic and all-new X-Men eras.
• Michael Golden cover art and previously unpublished John Byrne artwork.
• Original 1982 Fantagraphics magazine format, increasingly scarce and hard to find.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Is this the original 1982 edition? Yes — this is the first printing of Fantagraphics’ 1982 X-Men Companion I, in the original magazine format.

Who is interviewed? The four interviews are Roy Thomas, Dave Cockrum, Len Wein, and Chris Claremont, with previously unpublished John Byrne artwork included.

Is this a comic or a book? It is a magazine-format softcover interview/retrospective volume — a companion to the X-Men comics themselves, not an individual comic issue.

FOR COLLECTORS

Original 1982 Fantagraphics X-Men Companion I copies are growing harder to find, and this one is a strong clean example with the Michael Golden cover. For collectors of Claremont-era X-Men, Bronze Age comics history, or Fantagraphics’ early output, it is both primary-source reading and a shelf-worthy original artifact.

Condition Report

This is a “very good” or better, magazine sized paperback published in 1982 by Fantagraphic Books, 122 pages, profusely illustrated with black and white excerpts from many now classic X-men comic pages and covers.

No loose, torn or folded pages. No writing. Covers close flat, text block tight and flat. Some mild surface wear to covers. One very faint crease on front cover near spine edge. A little area of sunning/fading in blue background on upper spine edge of front cover.

See accompanying images for full condition details.

Really cool time capsule that will make any X-men’s eyes shine!

Getting harder to find with each passing year.

Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

HFB-SEO-v1: 2026-08-20

3 in stock