FRED VAN LENTE formally launches a fancy new feature comparing great classic comics! Back in May, columnist Fred Van Lente tried out a new concept for his column here at the ol’ 13th Dimension: He took two titles that are linked historically — Justice League of America and Fantastic Four in the early ’60s — and compared key issues over several years, determining which was the better title. (Click here to check it out!) We called it SILVER AGE DEATH MATCH because we’re clever like that and you folks responded enthusiastically. So like a pilot getting picked up for series, we’ve decided to make this a semi-regular thing — now calling it COMIC BOOK DEATH MATCH — for at least as long as it’s fun. (Oh and credit to Mr. Sam Greenfield for that groovy new banner up there.) Anyway, in this installment, Fred’s playing with fire — The New Teen Titans vs. The Uncanny X-Men, from 1980 to 1984. Oh, and if you have any ideas for future competitions, let us know in the comments! But, please — no wagering… — By FRED VAN LENTE Heigh-ho, musty comics fans, and welcome to the latest installment of a semi-regular column pitting the runs of semi-related titles against each other to see which one is better, just for fun. The first time I tried this was with Justice League of America and the title it supposedly inspired, Marvel’s first flagship, Fantastic Four. Though Fantastic Four started the Marvel Universe as we know it now, by the end of the ’60s it had been overtaken in popularity by The Amazing Spider-Man. The genius of the title that supplanted Spidey, Chris Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men (though it had many excellent artists, he remained the consistent creative force as writer), was to synthesize the inter-team conflict that made FF tick with the over-the-top soap opera that made Peter Parker’s life so miserabl—er, interesting. The year-plus-long Dark Phoenix Saga — which brought together massive space battles and a struggle with the (ripped-off of The Avengers TV show in Britain) Hellfire Club in an epic tale that ended in the death of its titular Goth Bird Lady With a Cosmic Prophecy — put it on the map as Marvel’s most popular title, if not the most popular title in all of American comics, until the end...