This was a story about the X-Men on a "day-off" I guess. To this nine year old boy it was a confusing introduction. I got a strong feeling for the characters and images that stuck in my head forever (Ororo getting her palm sliced open? Yeesh!). But it didn't hook me into buying more.
Hearing about "the death of Phoenix" from my friends got me back to X-men -- but too late to catch more John Byrne. I think it was the shock of seeing Dave Cockrum's work instead of JB's that awoke me to the whole concept of liking one artist more than another.

And boy did I go bananas over my favorite artist's work once that idea took root: good ol' John "Brine". I remember actually "correcting" someone who pronounced it "Burn". "Burn? How could it be 'burn?' You dope. It's 'Brine'." Ah youth.

My first was Uncanny 138. Actually a great first issue because it covered the entire history of the X-Men up to that point.

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Thaaat's right! Ah, the pieces fall into place!

The drawing is a sketchbook illustration, which was first published in a small 'zine (don't recall the title). As the centerfold, as I recall. Then Marvel picked it up. And then, apparently, that overseas publisher.

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Here's an example of why colorists can sometimes save us from ourselves, and sometimes be the bain of our existence.

In this case, the latter.

The white semi-circle is a "void" that's threatening to engulf the world. So I rendered its edge as subjective contour -- ho holding line, defined only by the way the lines in the rest of the drawing just stopped there.

Now, Shooter was no fan of subjective contour drawings! Somehow, they completely eluded him as an artistic concept. But I love 'em, so even tho he had dinked around with virtually every drawing I'd done for Marvel that featured this effect (first time was in IRON FIST), I kept trying!

So, maybe it was the colorist's idea to define the edge of the void with that pink (PINK!!!) smear, or maybe it was ordered by Shooter. Either way, the effect I was going for was ruined. (Joe Sinnott was mystified too. The next time I saw him he mentioned that cover. "Why did they do that with the color? It completely spoiled the effect!")

Anyway, here's what it was supposed to look like. . .

(Pretty sure that rather lame Starfox at lower right isn't mine, either!! At least, I hope not!)

The Iron Fist issu.e with Captain America.

After that the last part of the arcade arc in Uncanny X-Men.

On Iron Fist he was for me just a good artist amongst others i liked, that's on Uncanny, and the inks of Terry Austin certainly also helped, that he became my favorite artist, and kept this place even with other inkers witouth real rivals for most of the 80s.

Even JRjr, my other favorite, was simply second to Byrne.

Byrne & JRjr, Austin & Layton, Claremont & Michelinie & Stern. Those were my favorites. 

I'm almost positive it was Marvel Team-Up #65...

Same here. I was just looking at that cover and thinking Cap Brit's lion emblem must have been an a**hole to draw over and over. Not as bad as Jack of Hearts, but still.

I know I've said before but mine were Marvel Premiere 47 and 48 featuring the new Ant-Man (although it is very likely that Marvel UK reprinted Starlord in the back of it's old Star Wars Weekly comic before this was out). Bought both in a newsagent shop in Bridlington on a family holiday. Happy days. Never realised the artist at the time (won't mention my age when bought), but I never ditched them (always kept to hand). Several years later I discovered JB properly through reprints of Alpha Flight in the British reprints of Secret Wars and the light bulb went off!