Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: bronze age, x-men

New Team Hits Spain in X-Men #94-96 from Ediciones Vértice, at Auction

Ediciones Vértice was founded in 1963 by Josep Torra i Mas in Barcelona, primarily as a publisher of Spanish-language comics licensed from other international markets.  Among the publisher's earliest series was 1964's Zarpa de Acero, a translation of IPC Magazines' spy thriller The Steel Claw from the UK.  Ediciones Vértice began to publish Marvel Comics material for the Spanish market in 1969, launching Spiderman (one word, no hyphen in this version's title), Los Vengadores (The Avengers), and Patrulla-X (X-Men) that year, and soon following up with numerous others.  In 1978, Ediciones Vértice published Patrulla-X vol. 3 #20, the Spanish Language debut of the now-legendary X-Men #94-96, the relaunch of the regular X-Men series featuring the new X-Men team which had been introduced in Giant-Size X-Men #1.  Tough to come by in any grade, there's a CGC-graded copy of Patrulla-X Vol. 3 #20 (Ediciones Vertice, 1978) CGC GD+ 2.5 Off-white pages up for auction in the 2022 November 10 Foreign Comics Featuring U.S. Characters Showcase Auction #40210 at Heritage Auctions.

The CGC slab info and the Heritage Auction post blurb require a little unpacking in this case.  The series title here is actually Patrulla-X and not Mundi Comics as listed.  Mundi Comics was an imprint used by Ediciones Vértice from the mid to late 1970s.  The Patrulla-X title itself was originally launched in 1969, with volumes 1 and 2 running from 1969-1972 overall.  Volume 3 was launched in 1976, running for 35 issues through 1980.  Notably, it would appear that there is no Patrulla-X edition of Giant-Size X-Men #1.  Patrulla-X vol. 3 #20 also includes the stories from X-Men #94-96.

As can be seen from the scan here, the cover features redrawn artwork from the original release, which is common on international editions for other markets.  It seems that Ediciones Vértice received no color guides for these covers during this period, as the color is obviously wrong here on a number of fronts, and would remain incorrect until issue #26 of the series.  The interior story material is printed in black and white.

In recent times, there has been an increasing awareness of international edition comic books as communities and experts have begun to share and assemble information about publishers and titles.  There is currently only a single copy of this issue on the CGC Census, but that sole graded CGC-graded copy of Patrulla-X Vol. 3 #20 (Ediciones Vertice, 1978) CGC GD+ 2.5 Off-white pages up for auction in the 2022 November 10 Foreign Comics Featuring U.S. Characters Showcase Auction #40210 at Heritage Auctions. If you've never bid at Heritage Auctions before, you can get further information, you can check out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.

X-Men #94 Spanish Edition (Ediciones Vertice, 1978) CGC GD+ 2.5 Off-white pages. Spanish edition, published as Mundi Comics V3#20. Contains the second appearances of Storm, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird, and Colossus. Dave Cockrum and Bob McLeod art. Not listed in Overstreet. CGC census 9/22: 1 in 2.5, none higher.

CGC Grader Notes:
staple detached bottom of cover
heavy creasing to cover
heavy scuffing to cover
moderate tears to cover
spine splits to cover
staining to cover

View the certification for CGC Certification ID 2707776003.

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