Analyzing Arthur Adams’ Classic X-Men #1 Cover

Anybody who knows me knows that I am a fan of comic book artwork. One of my favorite comic book covers of all time is Classic X-Men #1 by Arthur Adams. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I learned about the history behind this timeless comic artwork by Art Adams. It turns out that the classic art that we all know and love was not the first draft for the cover. Below is the initial image that Arthur Adams had created for Classic X-Men #1

Rumor has it that, after showing the initial draft to John Romita Sr, John Romita suggested that he make the group dynamic tighter by getting eveyrbody closer together. This lead to the following sketch from John Romita Sr:

Art Adams reworked the sketch and produced the second sketch, which would be used to create the final cover for Classic X-Men #1 and the rest is history. Below is the second sketch along with the final artwork for Classic X-Men #1:

What’s even more amazing is that Art Adams went back to this classic piece of Marvel history and redrew the cover the way he would have done it now. Now, don’t get me wrong, the new art is nice but nothing tops the original work. Check out the reworked art below along with Ron Lim’s take on this classic piece or art.