Ungoliantschilde

Fastball Special by Jim Lee with inks by Scott Williams (c. 2000)

Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Joe Rosas’s cover process for X-Men # 1.

Best selling because its the same comic with 4 different covers.

Yes, that is partially correct. But everyone was doing that at the time. That’s why I hate on ’90s comics for being all flash and no substance.

A cover is supposed to get your attention, which is exactly what these do. It is a (frankly) odd layout choice, but it was also a very early example of this type of cover artwork.

Does anybody remember those early issues of X-Men, Vol. 2 because of the story? I sure as shit don’t.

That and this was the era when people began to realize how valuable comics could be, so when covers like these were released, people bought more than one set, expecting them to be worth millions ten or twenty years later.

Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man # 1 came in like, 5 different variant versions. One had gold webs, one had silver, and one had platinum. There was also a second print in bronze, and so on. Rob Liefeld’s X-Force # 1 cover came in a polybag with a trading card. With one card per book, you “needed” to get 6-7 copies of the book in order to get all of the cards.

Meanwhile, DC’s Death of Superman came out a couple years later. Superman # 75 was polybagged as well. You could not read the comic without opening the polybag. Ever seen one that was graded? They get graded down a whole number if the polybag has been opened.

Incidentally, the CGC got its start by being advertised in the back of Wizard Magazine, which published a horse-shit “price guide”, which featured wildly exaggerated prices or outright lies.

This was about the time I got into comics as a kid. I have fond memories of those comics and very much so remember what happened in them. These comics created an addiction that I still haven’t been able to kick in 20+ years. I wanted to and had to know everything about the X-Men and all the characters. As a kid, every penny i had went to getting back issues so I could learn more about these fascinating characters. I know people look back poorly at the 90’s for the greed and over saturation of the market, but these were my gateway into the X-Men and into comics, and I will always love them for that.

I look back with fond memories, to be honest. I did not know who any of these artists were until College, when I went back to reading them. I’d gotten into the X-Men as a kid with the Uncanny X-Men # 300 and the X-Men Vs. Dracula Oneshots as my first loves. I had a ratty TPB of Wolverine, Vol. 1 by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont. To this day, I still read the same two copies of the Essential Wolverine, Vol.’s 1 & 2. The covers are taped on, but I still read them.

I read other stuff as I started college, and I developed an interest in marrying the idealized version of comics with more classical artwork and different types of music. My first memory of artwork is my father reading the N.C. Wyeth-Illustrated version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” to me.

Anyways, college was when I started thinking about painting and painting lead me back to comics.

Re-reading Jim Lee’s X-Men feels like watching a Saturday Morning cartoon to me. It’s not bad memories, but it is not artwork that I go looking for.

It bears noting that in 1991, these issues were sold over the counter exclusively.

Every single issue of X-Men, Vol. 2 # 01 was bought in person, with cash, personal check, or a credit card on one of those old school credit card machines that made an ink imprint of the numbers. That’s a big deal, and it needs to be appreciated in an era of comicbook readers that grew up with smartphones.

Dan Slott’s Spider-Man broke records when he sold a million copies. That number included digital sales.

Jim Lee’s X-Men # 1 sold more copies than any comic book in history, and it did it at a time when people had to physically walk to a comic book store and buy the physical book. Part of those sales numbers are the gimmick of the variant covers. But that’s still the staggering heat this book garnered. And there has not been a book since that came even close.

The only comparable experience I can think of was when Marvel was publishing the first Civil War event book by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. I was close with the owner of the local store where I went to college. The first Marvel Civil War event book absolutely revitalized his store. Bob does not even LIKE superhero books, but he LOVED Marvel’s Civil War. It saved his ass.

People shit on Mark Millar for being bombastic and over the top, but he sells books. And LCS owners love that guy because he sells books.

Jim Lee is the Michael Bay of comic book artists. THAT’S NOT A COMPLIMENT. But.

Jim Lee sells books.

WildCATS#3 variant cover by Chris Bachalo

Inks by Scott Williams, which is a one-time pairing.

Scott or Chris posted the inks on Instagram, and then Scott commented that it’s the only time he’s inked Bachalo to date, and that he’d like to get more chances. I don’t know that I can say I prefer Scott’s inks over anyone else, but he’s very good and works very clean. Jim Lee owes a lot of praise and fan appreciation to Scott. I think Townsend is the best inker for Bachalo, because they know each other so well and have worked together for so long. But, yeah, I’d like to see Scott ink Bachalo some more.

Looks like Chris colored this too, and it’s predictably gorgeous.

the Batcave by Jim Lee and Frank Miller, with Inks by Scott Williams, and Colors by Alex Sinclair.

The Uncanny X-Men #272

by Chris Claremont; Jim Lee; Scott Williams; Joe Rosas/Glynis Oliver and Tom Orzechowski

Marvel

the Superman Unchained, Vol. 1 # 06 Bronze Age Variant, as illustrated by Lee Weeks.

*this is the first time that Lee Weeks had ever done a Superman cover!*

Wildstorm Rising, Vol. 1 # 2 by Barry Windsor-Smith, with Inks by Scott Williams, and Colors by Joe Chiodo.

The Riddler: Year One #1 [Textless] (Card Stock Variant) (2022)

Art by: Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair

Jim has always been technically perfect. His technique and his renderings look more like the work of an inker than that of a penciler. His storytelling has always been a weak point, but his rendering has never been a problem. The problem is that he always seemed to draw like a corporate entity, not a dude that loves comics. His covid benefit pinups and the covers he’s produced since then have been like an artistic awakening for him. He’s finally drawing like he should. Like a technically brilliant artist that ENJOYS drawing comic book artwork. It feels like it’s coming from his heart, and that’s honestly a new side of Jim Lee. I remember when he debuted, mind you.

Batman/Spawn by Jim Lee, with Inks by Scott Williams

1991 X-Men: Mutant Genesis ad only published in Advance Comics #32.

This is the dual ad by Jim Lee & Whilce Portacio that featured very different teams and directions for the X-Men line when the X-Men spinoff title debuted. It’s a fascinating piece of lost media that never happened.

Chris Claremont had an unrealized direction for both series (Much of that explained in these links

 - https://serieland.dk/artikler/interview-med-chris-claremont/ 

- http://secretsbehindthexmen.blogspot.com/2012/05/x-men-and-x-factor-united.html

- https://twitter.com/DaveShevlin/status/1176467348846534657

before the artists and Editor Bob Harras forced those plans to be abandoned which ultimately led to Claremont’s departure immediately after the X-Men book launched after 17 years on the franchise.

Action Comics #1050 (December 2022) variant cover by Jim Lee

Inks by Scott Williams.