From a number of posts I've read on this board (as if the series cancellation itself wasn't enough of a giveaway), I've come to realize that the first incarnation of X-Men wasn't popular or well-liked by a good number of readers.
That puzzles me, because I always assumed it was a solid 'second-tier' title, and I looked forward to each issue. I liked the set-up, I liked the characters, I liked the art and writing. I was surprised when the title became reprints of the early stories, and missed reading their new stories.
To satisfy my curiosity, what are your thoughts on X-Men 1 through 66? If you read them fresh off the newstand, did you miss them when the series stopped, or wasn't it a big deal? What do you think now; has your opinion changed over the years?
If you never read them new, and only know them from their Masterworks editions, do you see anything in the storyline that made their demise understandable?
Obviously, a number of readers abandoned the title, so my opinion is a minority one, and asking these questions in a population made up of more-than-casual comics fans might skew any results, but the seies cancellation is one that I never saw coming.
