Uncanny X-Men #126 Cover Reimagining by John Byrne (2006)

Artist Dave Cockrum penciled a number of X-Men covers during John Byrne’s definitive run on the title. As much as I love Cockrum’s art, the Byrne fan in me has always wondered how these covers would have looked from the master himself. This sketch by Byrne of the cover to Uncanny X-Men #126 (October 1979) is faithful enough to Cockrum’s original layouts to be classified as a recreation but is probably better titled a reimagining since Byrne brings his own inimitable style to the piece.

This sketch was done in the closing end pages to a bound volume containing Byrne’s own file copies of Uncanny X-Men nos. 117-128 and X-Men King-Size Annual no. 3. I’ve always considered file copies of comics kept by their artists to be sacred items of sorts since it’s very cool to imagine them referring to their prior work for reference as part of the creative process. I purchased this bound volume from a fellow collector in 2011 who had originally bought it from Byrne through his rep Jim Warden.