Image via Complex Original
Since The X-Men #1 was first published in 1963, X-Men books have always had the power to turn artists into superstars. Drawing Marvel's Merry Mutants is one of the most highly sought after jobs for any comic artist in the business, and for many it's considered a lifelong dream. Over the years, dozens of artists have tried their hand at crafting a unique look for the X-Men, but only a certain few ever truly redefined the team's look.
Unfortunately, a lot of artists try too hard to mimic what came before them without trying to present something original. But every couple of years, an artist always comes along and completely tears down the X-Men and re-invents them for a new generation. New costumes, complete character overhauls, and eye-popping penciling techniques can turn the well-worn mutants into something fresh and new again. With this weekend's release of the popular franchise's latest film adaptation, X-Men: First Class, we pay our respects to the legacy of this venerable comic book franchise by counting down the top 10 X-Men artists!
Marc Silvestri
10. MARC SILVESTRI
In the late '80s, nobody defined the X-Men more than Marc Silvestri. As part of some of the most important X-Men storylines of all time, such as Fall of the Mutants and Inferno, Silvestri’s art often overshadowed the classic stories themselves. His X work didn't end there as he also spent a while penciling the X-Men spinoff book, Wolverine.
Silvestri comes from a school of thought that always put characters and storytelling before action and it’s often the more intimate moments of a comic that he pulled off the best. Furthermore, sandwiched between two iconic X-Men artists John Romita Jr. and Jim Lee, Silvestri managed to make a name for himself and employ a style that was completely his own.
Arthur Adams
9. ARTHUR ADAMS
Employing a square-jawed style reminiscent of the best cartoons from our youth, Arthur Adams’ work on the X-Men is bigger and badder than anyone on this list. The odd thing about Adams is that he never actually spent too much time on any X-Men book, only working on a few annuals and a couple of single issues here and there. But it’s his illustrations on X-Men posters and merchandise, especially a famous group shot, that made Adams’ work incredibly memorable.
His characters never lacked muscles and always posed in a dynamic way that instantly popped off pages and shelves. It didn’t matter that he never had a long run on a proper book; Arthur Adams' work is more recognizable than most longtime pencilers could ever dream of being.
Joe Madureira
8. JOE MADUREIRA
Joe Mad was a staple of the X-Men comics during the mid '90s. His work on the book started right when Marvel launched one of the biggest X crossovers in history, The Age of Apocalypse. Joe Mad's art was all over the damn thing and he became a household name seemingly overnight. Well, just as long as your household contained a comic buff.
Madureira’s art infused the typical cartoon influences of American comics with a dose of Japanese Manga to produce a style that was completely fresh and hard to imitate. While certainly not everyone’s preference, his art kept most fan’s interest up and provided the X-Men comics with a look that no other book had at the time. Unfortunately he soon left the comic industry to pursue a career as a creative director in the video game industry, but his Age of Apocalypse art, and the world he helped create, is still a staple of Marvel.
Adam Kubert
7. ADAM KUBERT
Although he employs a highly unconventional style, Adam Kubert is one of the best artists working today. To his credit, he is also a fantastic visual storyteller who never lets his art get too bogged down in unnecessary flash.
His art helped comics mature from the highly muscled and downright ugly art of the '90s into a more story-driven medium. Unfortunately, while his artwork on X-Men was instantly classic, the actual stories that the art was attached to were often a letdown. Thankfully, he was given the chance to pencil a book that matched his high caliber of art when he teamed with writer Mark Millar on the launch of Ultimate X-Men in 2001.
Neal Adams
6. NEAL ADAMS
Neal Adams is one of the few talents that would have to be considered for a Mount Rushmore of comic artists. The roster of characters that he redefined reads like a veritable who’s-who of the comics world. And near the top of that list is his work on the X-Men in the late '60s.
Adams didn't work on the book for all that long, but his contributions are a highlight of Marvel's art during the '60s. His highly detailed style, mixed with his refusal to stick to the normal panel layout, made Adams' X-Men work timeless despite the book’s cancellation soon after he started on it.
Dave Cockrum
5. DAVE COCKRUM
X-Men fans owe basically everything to Dave Cockrum. Due to low sales in the late '60s, Marvel had stopped publishing new X-Men stories and instead just put out reprints of older material. In a last ditch effort to drum up interest, the company put writer Len Wein and Dave Cockrum in charge of introducing a new team of mutants to audiences. Cockrum co-created and designed new mutants such as Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus to lead this new class along with Wolverine, a character Wein had created earlier.
Giant Size X-Men #1 was released in 1975 and was a hit among fans. The new team added some memorable dynamics to the book and all of Cockrum’s characters instantly became classics. His offbeat designs and knack for crafting pulse-pounding action scenes helped X-Men come off the chopping block and transformed the title into a pop culture juggernaut.
Andy Kubert
4. ANDY KUBERT
No one wants to be the dude to date the girl that just broke up with Derek Jeter. The pressure of filling those shoes would likely drive any man insane. Those are the kind of expectations that Andy Kubert had to live up to in the '90s after he took over the X-Men art from the legendary Jim Lee. It was just inevitable that fans were going to hate him and sales were going to plummet. But here’s the thing: none of that happened. Kubert didn’t just fill in admirably for Lee, he introduced a style all his own while keeping the spirit of Lee’s work intact.
In fact, Kubert’s X-Men run was so well received that, to this day, many fans actually prefer him to Lee. His art during the '90s was a welcome change from the disgustingly rendered penciling of Rob Liefeld and other artists who nearly destroyed the industry. Along with Lee, Kubert crafted a look for the X-Men that defined a generation and carried over into toys, video games, cartoons, and eventually made the property popular enough to earn itself a string of blockbuster movies.
John Cassaday
3. JOHN CASSADAY
With the launch of Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men in 2004, Marvel had to make sure that the series’ artist lived up to Whedon's blockbuster pedigree. Cue Planetary artist John Cassaday. Already a big name in the comic world having worked with Warren Ellis and provided art for Captain America, Astonishing was Cassaday’s highest profile work yet.
Featuring some modern re-designs of the X-Men costumes and employing his cinematic eye towards comic art, Cassaday soon became the artist of an entire generation of X-Men fans. His hyper-realistic work and over-the-top action scenes instantly became the star of the book, even overshadowing Whedon’s fantastic scripts.
John Byrne
2. JOHN BYRNE
Along with writer Chris Claremont, artist John Byrne was part of the greatest creative team to ever work on the pages of Uncanny X-Men. Byrne helped make this run legendary with jaw-dropping splash pages and his ability to tell a fantastic story. He is one of the few artists to find a happy medium between low-key art that expressed what a character was going through and eye-popping visuals designed to boggle the mind.
With thousands of fans reading every month and some great artists that preceded him, Byrne had a ton of pressure on him to propel X-Men to the top of the comic sales charts. Despite the pressure, he always found a way to stun audiences with every issue. Stories like The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past are still considered masterpieces in the comic world. And while Claremont’s writing is universally hailed as genius, it’s Byrne's staggering artwork that fans remember most.
Jim Lee
1. JIM LEE
Could it have been anyone else? Comic art during the '90s is deservedly trashed, but Jim Lee’s art always delivered the goods. His ability to tell a story may not have been as well realized as Jack Kirby or Neal Adams, but his dynamic use of action and meticulous attention to detail easily made up for it.
With the help of Lee’s dynamic gatefold variant covers, X-Men #1 became the highest-selling comic book of all time; a record it still holds today after selling 8.1 million copies. It seemed like everyone had a copy of the book at the time and it helped solidify Lee’s status as one of the comic industry’s hottest artists. Chances are most people won’t be able to remember the story they read in that issue, but they’ll still vividly remember those covers.
Sales figures aside, it’s the contributions to the character designs that has been Lee’s real legacy. When you close your eyes and try to imagine an X-Men character such as Jean Grey, Storm, or Cyclops, chances are they are wearing the costumes that Lee designed. The X-Men wouldn't be in the position that they are in today without Lee's work.