10 Bizarre Cameos In X-Men Comics

One of the biggest real-life storylines of the 1990s comic book scene was the defection of Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane and a host of other major writers and artists from the big-name comic book publishers to creator-owned, independent publisher Image Comics.

At the core of this conflict was comic creators wanting to own the original characters they created for companies like Marvel and DC, which would allow them to make royalties if the characters turned out to be profitable. For years, comic creators were overworked and underpaid for companies that reported huge profits using creators' works. Image was created by Lee and his peers to fix that.

One of Jim Lee's most notable works at Image was Wildcats, also written as WildC.A.T.s if you're feeling extra '90s. After just a few years, Wildcats became a pretty widely known comic and could safely be called a success. So, given all that background, it was a little bit strange when the crossover WildC.A.T.s/X-Men found its way to shelves in 1997.

It should be made clear, Jim Lee was no longer writing the book. But it still seems weird that the legacy of one of the founders of Image would crossover with everything the company was created in rebellion against.