IDW Publishing Celebrates One of Comic’s All-Time Greats with ‘Jim Lee’s X-Men Artist’s Edition’
A legacy that is near incomparable, IDW Publishing celebrates one of the comic book industry’s all-time great artists with the recently released Jim Lee’s X-Men Artist’s Edtion.
There are few artists in the comic book industry that can boast the same level of fanfare, impact, and success during their careers than the name is known and beloved by comic fans everywhere; Jim Lee.
Source: DC Comics
He was the man behind the iconic drawings of one of Marvel’s greatest teams ever crafted, as he redefined the X-Men for an entire generation with his work on Uncanny X-Men, and the 1991 spin-off series, X-Men #1.
previously working on titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journey, it was his contribution to the renowned legacy of the X-Men that made Lee a household name in the comic book community; as he was responsible for what remains the best-selling American comic book of all time.
Source: Marvel
30 years holding that record is rather impressive, and it speaks to the lasting legacy of the art, and the eye of the artist; but Lee’s work also served as the source of inspiration for the iconic X-Men Animated Series designs that would serve as the introduction for these characters to an entire generation.
IDW Publishing has set out to honor that incomparable legacy with the recently released Jim Lee’s X-Men Artist’s Edtion; a collection of scans that show the original linework of Jim Lee’s X-men days displaying various covers, double-page spreads, and interior pages to show off the stunning work.
A page of Uncanny X-Men 274 from the Marvel Comics app vs @IDWPublishing’s **stunning** @JimLee Artist’s Edition // cc: @ScottW_inks 🤯🤩 pic.twitter.com/67fT4gYdwz
— Nate Voss (@vossome) April 3, 2021
One fan took to Twitter to discuss the exceptional attention to detail that Lee exuded during his days penciling the X-Men, and it brought to focus the reality that the printing process of the 1990s acted in deteriorating some of the quality and sharpness of the original; filtering the image with small fuzz.
The inker on the issue, Scott Williams, even went as far as to call out the printing process that did, in fact, take away from Lee’s tremendous original artwork; stating that the prints of the original X-Men books were “really lousy.”
Yeah, look at Rogues face and hair, and the hatched shadow over Magnetos eyes. We got some really lousy printing in the original Xmen books, especially on double page spreads (check out the Xmen #1 spreads versus the Artists Edition). @sdunbier @JimLee https://t.co/zI8xGRWVqu
— Scott Williams (@ScottW_inks) April 3, 2021
Despite the reduction in quality from the printing process, fans still were given some of the most magnificent X-Men art ever crafted within these Jim Lee books, and the IDW Publishers release of Jim Lee’s X-Men Artists Edition will allow these beautiful original images to finally find us.
