- 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men #1 and 1974’s Incredible Hulk #181
Len Wein, long-time comic book writer and editor, recently suffered a fire at his home. Wein has been in the industry since the late ’60s, working for Marvel, DC and other large companies. He helped create some of the most famous and best-loved characters in comics. Some of the characters he created include Swamp Thing, Brother Voodoo (a personal favorite), X-Men members Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus as well as the ever-popular mutant, Wolverine.
In addition to losing a dog, numerous pieces of Wein’s work were destroyed in the fire. Among these include several huge pieces of comic book history, such as the original artwork for the cover to Giant-Size X-Men #1 and the original pages for Incredible Hulk #181, which is Wolverine’s first appearance in Marvel Comics.
The monetary value, while quite sizable I’m certain, pales in comparison to the historical importance of the lost works. Giant Sized X-Men #1 restarted the X-Men title, which had been stalled for five years at that point. While the Hulk issue was the first full appearance of what is arguably the most popular and important comic character created in the past 45 years. This is just a terrible blow to both the medium and one of its most notable participants. Fans and professionals are rallying to the cause, attempting to replace what they can of Wein’s collection of work.
