The Uncanny X-Men by Brent Anderson (2011)

I’m very pleased to unveil the commission that artist Brent Anderson drew in the end pages of one of my bound volumes of the Uncanny X-Men. After seeing scans of his prelims and full pencils over the past couple of months, I’ve been waiting with bated breath for the final while Brent has been busy with Astro City and his other professional work. It was clearly well worth the wait since the final piece is fantastic!

My inspiration for this commission was the wraparound cover that Brent did along with inker Terry Austin and colorist Keith Oliff for The Marvel Comics Index Part 9A (1981) with the full team of X-Men. Along with Dave Cockrum and Paul Smith, Brent was one of the core artists during what I can only describe as my own personal Golden Age of the Uncanny X-Men, so I’m very pleased to have his work in this bound volume that includes issues 151-175 of the great title.

In our recent correspondence about the piece, Brent wrote “It was interesting for me, after two years of working digitally, to put ink on paper, especially on paper bound into a hardcover book! Thanks again for granting me the opportunity of re-visiting these wonderful characters. Others must be thinking of these classic characters these days, also. I was just interviewed this past week by a fellow in Great Britain specifically about my collaborations with Chris Claremont on the X-Men, lo those many years ago.”