•••

Nobody wanted to write a TOY PROMOTION. Please remember that was all SECRET WARS was when Shooter took it on. He used his position as EiC to force it down the throats of all the other editorial offices and turn it into an EVENT. Something no one else would have been able to do.

•••

In those days, success or failure of a title was determined by the percentage of its print run that was sold. If sales dropped below 50%, the book would be axed.

UNCANNY X-MEN hovered just above that 50% cut-off, and Archie Goodwin, as EiC, understood the book had to go monthly to survive. But Dave Cockrum could not handle a monthly schedule, so Archie removed him from the book and brought in Terry Austin and me. *

A few issues later the book was successfully elevated to monthly status, and sales started a slow but steady climb.

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* Terry was actually the first Archie contacted. Impressed by our work on STAR LORD, Archie asked Terry if he would be interested in inking X-MEN if I could be hired to pencil.

Sadly, as I would learn decades later, at that point these maneuverings were going on behind Dave’s back.