The Dark Phoenix Saga in French: Every Edition

Few superhero stories have been read in France by as many different generations, and rarely in the same object: newsstand magazine, bound album, oversized boxed set. Depending on the year you first met Jean Grey, you did not read quite the same book, or the same translation.

As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issue numbers, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of protected art or dialogue.

The original US run in brief

The saga fills ten issues of the American series The Uncanny X-Men, #129 to #138, with cover dates running from January to October 1980. Chris Claremont writes, John Byrne draws and helps build the plots, and Terry Austin inks. The Hellfire Club, the secret society that manipulates Jean Grey, carries that name from #129 on. Issue #137 is the peak of the story; #138, titled "Elegy" in the original, deals with the consequences and closes the sequence.

Two useful remarks before we get to editions. First, the scope is not always the same from one book to another: depending on the publisher, the "saga" stops at #137, at #138, or continues with epilogue issues and side stories. Second, some French books also collect stories written years later that revisit the event. For an overview of the issues to look for in the original US printing, our guide to the key issues of the Dark Phoenix Saga remains the reference; here, we only discuss what you can read or buy in French.

The French editions, in order of publication

1982 to 1983: the Spécial Strange magazine at Lug

The first French publication went through the newsstand. Lug, which was then publishing Marvel superheroes in France, ran the series under the title "Les étranges X-Men" in its magazine Spécial Strange. According to reader reports and the contents lists we cross-checked, the Hellfire Club arc starts in issue 28, dated June 1982, where the episode "Lorsque l'enfant paraît…" introduces Emma Frost and tries to recruit Kitty Pryde. The episodes then continue at a rate of one or two per issue.

Here are the landmarks we were able to cross-check: issue 30 (December 1982) contains "On les nomme les damnés"; issue 31 (March 1983) contains an episode titled "Le Phénix noir"; issue 32 (June 1983) contains "D'ombre et de lumière"; issue 33 (August 1983) contains "La mort de Phénix"; issue 34 (December 1983) contains "Élégie", which closes the saga. Issue 29 is not detailed here for lack of cross-checking. Each magazine also contains other, unrelated stories (Spider-Man, the Thing, editorial columns), which makes these issues composite objects.

One point of caution: the dates of a single magazine vary depending on the source, since a newsstand magazine can carry one cover month and come out a little later, as a reader points out about issue 28. We therefore give the months shown by the contents lists and by the magazine's catalog, leaving the day aside.

1990 to 1996: X-Men Saga at Semic

Semic, which took over from Lug, launched a magazine called X-Men Saga in July 1990. It runs for 26 issues, until 1996, and translates the X-Men starting from American #96, going back to the renewed team of the mid-1970s. In this magazine, the publisher Panini's listing for the 2018 boxed set names issue 17 as one of the earlier publications of the material; the magazine's catalog places the episode "Élégie" there, which matches the conclusion of the saga. For further reading, the same listing also cites Semic's magazine Spidey, issues 51 and 52.

For the collector, X-Men Saga is the second chance to read the saga in a newsstand magazine, in a translation we were not able to compare with the 1982 one. We do not detail the exact issue of each episode in this magazine, for lack of a cross-checked list.

2003: X-Men L'Intégrale 1980 at Marvel France

A first bound edition covering the saga as a whole is the "1980" volume of the X-Men complete-edition series, published by Marvel France in 2003: 274 pages, 27 cm, translated by Geneviève Coulomb, according to a library record. It collects Uncanny X-Men #129 to #140, that is, the saga and its immediate aftermath. Panini has reissued it since, with a November 2019 date appearing in a bookseller's listing.

2014: Hachette, "Marvel Comics, la collection de référence"

In 2014, Hachette Collections published "The Uncanny X-Men : le Phénix noir", a bound 27 cm volume of about 170 pages, translated by Geneviève Coulomb according to the Bibliothèque nationale record. Its number within the collection varies by source (3 for the library, 2 for another database); we do not settle the question. The exact contents in American issue numbers are not detailed by the sources we consulted.

Marvel Best Of: "L'envol du Phénix"

Panini mentions, in the listing for its boxed set, an album in the Marvel Best Of line titled "L'envol du Phénix" (Phoenix Takes Flight), which had already published part of the material. We could not cross-check its date or its contents; it exists, but we do not detail it.

2018: Marvel Absolute, the complete boxed set

On October 3, 2018, Panini released "X-Men : la saga du Phénix noir" in its Marvel Absolute line: 440 pages, hardcover in a slipcase, 330 by 217 millimeters. It collects Uncanny X-Men #129 to #138, plus Avengers #263, Fantastic Four #286, X-Factor #1, Classic X-Men #8 and #43, Bizarre Adventures #27, Phoenix: The Untold Story #1 and What If? #27. The listing also notes a story never before published in French. This is the edition that gathers the most material around the saga.

2020: Marvel Must-Have, the accessible album

On December 2, 2020, Panini published "X-Men : la saga du Phénix noir" in the Must-Have series of Best Of Marvel: an 18 by 27 centimeter hardcover containing Uncanny X-Men #129 to #137. Issue #138 is not in it, so you have to look elsewhere for the epilogue.

2022: Marvel Epic Collection, "Le destin du Phénix"

On August 17, 2022, Panini released "X-Men volume 7 : le destin du Phénix (1980-1981)" in the Marvel Epic Collection line: hardcover, 27 by 18 centimeters. The announced contents cover Uncanny X-Men #129 to #143, Annual #4, Phoenix: The Untold Story #1, excerpts from Marvel Treasury Edition #26 and #27, and Marvel Team-Up #100. This is the French edition that goes furthest into the run that follows.

US to French correspondence

The Lug magazine issues are not matched here one by one with the American issues: the reports we consulted give the French titles and the dates, not the original numbering. For Semic's X-Men Saga, the 1994 date comes from the magazine's catalog, which places issue 17 in July 1994.

Which edition to choose for your profile

You want to read the saga

The 2020 Must-Have album is the simple choice: a single volume, the first nine episodes, an album-sized pocket format. If the ending matters to you, note that #138 is missing; the Epic Collection or the Absolute boxed set both contain it. For richness of context, the Epic Collection goes further than the others, up to #143.

You collect the first French edition

Aim for Lug's Spécial Strange magazines: no. 28 (June 1982) for the opening of the arc, then nos. 30 to 34 through the epilogue. Unlike an album, a newsstand magazine is judged on its fold wear and cover condition, and on whether all the interior pages are present. Our history of Lug gives the context of this period.

You like the oversized format

The Marvel Absolute boxed set is the only oversized edition we have confirmed. Its weight and its 440 pages make it a bookshelf piece rather than a couch read. If you hesitate between oversized and standard format, the question is the same as for other titles: see our comparison Omnibus and Absolute at Panini.

Pitfalls and points to watch

• The scope changes depending on the edition. #129 to #137, #129 to #138, #129 to #140 or #129 to #143: check the printed contents before buying.
• Do not confuse Spécial Strange and Strange. They are two different Lug magazines. The saga is in the first, from 1982 to 1983.
• Side stories in the boxed set. The Absolute box contains episodes written well after 1980; they are interesting but not part of the original saga.
• Several translations. In the Lug magazine, Wolverine is called Serval and Proteus becomes Protée, according to reports on issues 28 and 30. We have not compared the texts line by line with the albums.
• Collection numbering. For the Hachette album, sources disagree on the number within the collection; trust the object itself.
• Reprints. The "1980" volume of the complete edition exists in two versions (Marvel France, then Panini): check the publisher's mention.

If you no longer know in which order to read the issues, the guide to the key issues of Jean Grey and Phoenix puts the episodes back in order of appearance.

What these editions are worth as collectibles

Three factors structure value: the rarity of the format, condition, and completeness. The 1982 and 1983 Spécial Strange magazines are newsstand objects printed to be read and thrown away; sound, complete copies without heavy creasing are the ones that count, and the complete run of seven issues is worth more together than a single issue. Recent Panini albums are bookstore books, relatively easy to find: they trade like reading books, with a possible premium for the Absolute box as long as it is complete, with its slipcase.

To estimate a piece, compare a copy with completed sales of the same edition, not of another one with a similar title. For a boxed set, the check is on the condition of the slipcase itself; for a magazine, on the spine and the corners. Our guide to the key issues of the saga describes the same reasoning for the original US printing, which can be transposed to the French editions.

Frequently asked questions