Seen here is the cover art for Weapon X #1 from the "Age of Apocalypse" storyline in 1995. It's a holy grail cover for me, and has been the top piece on my want list since I started collecting. The perfect blend of personal nostalgia, iconic image, awesome storyline, cool issue and great artist at the top of his game.
To say that I never expected to own this would be an understatement. Frankly, I'm still in shock. I've loved this cover since I was 13 and first saw it on the stands. The day I discovered the hobby and started collecting comic art, I made a short mental list of pieces I'd LOVE to buy one day. This was the first cover to make it on that initial list. After looking for it for years, I wrote it off as unobtainable. I figured it was locked up somewhere, and was sure to be out of my price range even if it ever did hit the market. Due to some recent encouragement and advice from my good friend Dave Wilber though, I finally managed to track it down. (Thanks again, Dave!)
I've always felt that Weapon X (Wolverine) and Jean Grey made up one of the more interesting team-ups in the AoA world. I would totally read a regular monthly of their adventures. They had an interesting dynamic, even though they were technically only in a few issues together. A nice blend of action and angst, and their AoA character designs really look good together. This is the cover to their first solo issue, and I particularly like the layouts. I've always thought it was awesome that they're both looking at the reader, rather than some enemy or unseen object. It allows the reader to instantly connect with the characters, particularly since their faces and eyes are so expressive. Kubert's work here is very detailed and simply stunning. His run on Wolverine is legendary, and I've always felt that this is his finest work on any title and one of my personal favorite covers from any title, era or artist.
This image was actually used in a lot of different places, which isn't surprising since in my mind, it's the definitive image of AoA Jean and Wolverine. In addition to the 2 original printings of the issue itself, it's also the cover to the Ultimate Edition trade paperback of the Weapon X title (the gold foil one), the back cover to the US trade paperback of volume 2 of the AoA saga, and the front cover to volume 2 of the Japanese volume of the AoA. Additionally, it was used on a T-shirt in '95 and this issue was reprinted again and included with the Weapon X Marvel Legends figure Toy Biz released a few years back. I'd be willing to bet it was also used as the basis for the alternate costume designs for the "X-Men Legends II" video game, since this is the only depiction of AoA Jean wearing those yellow straps and pouches on her costume. All other depictions of her costume lack them (aside from a few pages in Weapon X #2). Since her character wears them in the game, I can only assume they were using this image as a reference while programming the game.
I also have an interior page and a bunch of colorist art from this issue in my other galleries.
HUGE thanks go to Adam Kubert for being so nice and taking pity on me, and to Spencer for hooking me up! Truly above and beyond guys, and I genuinely appreciate it! I can't thank you both enough!
