The Uncanny X-Men #153

Name: The Uncanny X-Men #153
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jan 1982 · Marvel · 0.60 USD; 0.20 GBP

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“Kitty's Fairy Tale”

About this Issue

Uncanny X-Men #153 is one of the most celebrated done-in-one issues of the Claremont era, demonstrating that superhero serialization could make room for pure whimsy and character warmth without sacrificing depth. By having Kitty Pryde narrate a bedtime fairy tale to young Illyana Rasputin — recasting all the X-Men as pirates, wizards, and genies — Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum delivered an early template for the 'character-breath' interlude that dozens of writers would imitate in the decades that followed. The issue also carries genuine mythos weight: it contains the first-named appearance of Lockheed (here a dragon stand-in for the SR-71 Blackbird, predating the 'real' Lockheed's debut in #166), the debut of the small blue elf-creatures called Bamfs, and is widely cited as the first use of the term 'Phoenix Force' in Marvel continuity. Its fairy-tale world, initially presented as pure fiction, was later confirmed as an actual alternate dimension (Earth-5311) when Nightcrawler visited it in his 1985 limited series.

In "Kitty's Fairy Tale," Kitty Pryde spins a whimsical, imaginative story for Illyana Rasputin, weaving the X-Men into a fantastical adventure filled with magic, mystery, and mythical creatures. Written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Dave Cockrum with interior art by Josef Rubinstein and colors by Glynis Wein, the issue brings a playful, dreamlike tone to the mutant team’s world, all captured in a cover by Cockrum and Rubinstein.

writer Chris Claremont · artist Dave Cockrum · artist, inker Josef Rubinstein · colorist Glynis Wein · letterer Tom Orzechowski · cover Dave Cockrum, Joe Rubinstein

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.6 $59.95 1 listing

CGC 9.4 ▾ $47.5–$150 3 listings

CGC 9.4 $47.5 CGC 9.4 $57 CGC 9.4 · Signed Chris Claremont $150

Raw — MINT $11 1 listing Raw — NM $17 1 listing

Raw — NM- ▾ $11.99–$13.99 2 listings

NM- $11.99 NM- $13.99

Raw — VF/NM ▾ $11.11–$24.99 3 listings

VF/NM $11.11 VF/NM $14.99 VF/NM $24.99

Raw — VF+ ▾ $6.99–$12.79 5 listings

VF+ $6.99 VF+ $7.66 VF+ $7.95 VF+ $12.34 VF+ · Newsstand $12.79

Raw — VF ▾ $5.99–$22.99 8 listings

VF $5.99 VF $6.25 VF $9.1 VF $10 VF $11.95 VF · Newsstand $13.5 VF $21.97 VF $22.99

Raw — FN+ ▾ $11.55–$14.95 2 listings

FN+ $11.55 FN+ $14.95

Raw — FINE ▾ $3.25–$5 2 listings

FINE $3.25 FINE $5

Raw — FN ▾ $4.5–$7.7 2 listings

FN $4.5 FN $7.7

Raw — VERY GOOD $13 1 listing

Raw — FAIR ▾ $11.99–$19.64 2 listings

FAIR $11.99 FAIR $19.64

Raw / ungraded ▾ $3.5–$29 23 listings

Verified matches for The Uncanny X-Men #153 · eBay asking prices, seen 13 hours ago

More listings for this title

VF · Direct $4.19 VG+ $6.3 FN $7.8 CBCS 8.5 $290 1981 Marvel Comics Uncanny X-Men Volume 1 #153 Comic Book $15

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 5 total · seen 13 hours ago

🏪 Real comic shops near you sell this issue on eBay — from our directory:

The Time Capsule · Seekonk, MA2 on eBay ↗

Listings on eBay · clicking supports comicbooks.com

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

The issue was written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Dave Cockrum — Cockrum's second stint on the title after John Byrne's departure — with inks by Josef Rubinstein, colors by Glynis Wein, and lettering by Tom Orzechowski and Annette Kawecki, under editor Louise Jones (Simonson) with Jim Shooter as Editor-in-Chief. In a 2006 interview preserved by the Grand Comics Database, Cockrum noted that his pencils for this period were done loosely in blue, a technique his editor Ann Nocenti called 'shakedowns,' though he confirmed all the necessary visual information was present. The story is set immediately after the X-Men's battle with the Hellfire Club and White Queen, giving Claremont a natural narrative pivot to decompress and spotlight Kitty's voice; the cover's Monty Python catchphrase — 'And now for something completely different!' — signals exactly that tonal shift.

Trivia · 8 facts

Written by Chris Claremont, penciled by Dave Cockrum, inked by Josef Rubinstein, colored by Glynis Wein; cover date January 1982 (on-sale October 1981).
First appearance of Lockheed the dragon (Earth-5311 version), a fictional stand-in for the X-Men's SR-71 Blackbird jet, predating the 'real' Lockheed's debut in Uncanny X-Men #166.
First appearance of the Bamfs — small blue elf-like creatures patterned after Nightcrawler — who were later retroactively established as inhabitants of the actual alternate dimension Earth-5311 in Nightcrawler #3–4 (1985).
Widely cited as the first time the term 'Phoenix Force' is used in the Marvel Universe.
Also features the first appearances (in their Earth-5311 forms) of Pirate Kitty, Noble Prince (Cyclops), Wind-Rider (Storm), Wizard Xavier, and the Fiend-With-No-Name (Wolverine).
Carol Danvers appears in the framing story (the real-world Xavier mansion scenes), depicted wearing a shirt bearing the logo of DC's Captain Marvel — a deliberate in-joke by Claremont.
Kitty is drawn wearing an Elfquest T-shirt; Elfquest was created by Richard and Wendy Pini and was also published by Marvel under their Epic imprint.
Reprinted in Marvel Visionaries: Chris Claremont (2005 hardcover and 2019 paperback), The Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 2 (2014), and X-Men Epic Collection #8: I, Magneto (2021).