003 The Uncanny X-Men #97 & #99 (Philippino Reprint)

These two issues of X-Men were purchased around '78 in The Philippines, two years after their U.S. publication dates. I suspect they'd actually been sitting on the shelf where I found them for at least a year, though it's possible they had a later publication date (though none is listed).


Covers for X-Men 97 and 99 - note the size disparity

X-Men 97 - Detail 1

X-Men 99 - Detail 2 (note the pink hyphen)

Only one issue has a price on it, but I assume both cost 1.75 piaster. The faded nature of the coloring is how they have looked since I spotted them on the shelf in what I remember to be a department store. These were the only two copies of the only two issues (if I recall correctly) of X-Men on the shelf, interleaved with a chaotic jumble of other comics and magazines (notably a couple of copies of Marvel Triple Action).

Purchased many years before I knew anything about collecting (or the caring/storage of collectibles), they've held up remarkably well. One might reasonably assume the fading and wear on the covers is from years of handling, but this is how they've always been. It's especially evident in #97 where they tried to save money by not doing full-color black. I've always been curious as to whether they are legal reprints, or pirated anomalies.

Interior Front Cover

Other than the differences in the photos, the content of the interior pages are exactly the same as in the original U.S. print run. The covers (both interior and exterior), and an addition to the publication information are the only notable changes. Though the printing is of a lower quality (did I mention faded?), the color registration is typically decent.

Interior Detail - Publication Informat

These may have been purchased as late as 1979, because I do recall X-Men #115 (a comic from Nov. '78, with yet another tedious history) being my introduction to the "All-New, All-Different" version of the super-team. Note the detail of the back cover, below, where a young artist tries his hand at drawing from memory the essentials of Iceman's costume: belt, shorts, and boots.