Artist Scott Koblish’s massive interconnected cover to hit for the X-Men’s 700th issue

Hitting a numbered legacy of 700 issues, X-Men is set to celebrate as the team rises From the Ashes, with a packed set of covers.

The grand tradition

Any Marvel Comics fan, and likely any comics fan that has any history with the medium, could tell you about X-Men #1. The landmark 1991 launch ushered in a golden age for Marvel’s mutants, and the X-Men brand. Penciled by Jim Lee, the book launched with both a gatefold cover and a collection of variants that broke Lee’s action scene up. Still a beast, X-Men #1 holds a sales figure that places it among the very biggest selling single-issues of all time, with over eight million sold.

Now Marvel Comics is looking for a similar feel, and hopefully somewhat similar sales, with the first volley of titles in the From the Ashes era. An overarching tale, From the Ashes will include a series of new X-books, bringing first issues of X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, And Exceptional X-Men to fans. To celebrate that milestone, is an impressive cover from artist Scott Koblish.

Koblish’s piece will hold the same gimmick as Lee’s, in that it’ll be an interconnected one. That’s the sole similarity though, as the totality of this image will be spread out across a series of four different comics. Those will the #1’s that were listed above, plus X-Men #35, which closes out the current “Krakoan” run.

Something else to set it apart, is that the illustration doesn’t play host to an action scene. Instead it depicts a massive collection of X-Men characters from both past and present. Add to that, that fans will find both allies and enemies included too, and it’s got to be one of the most historically complete images to ever showcase the comic’s run.

It’s a great time to be an X-Men fan! In addition to their animated resurgence in Marvel Studios’ X-Men ’97, the X-Men’s comic book line is closing out its’ revolutionary Krakoan age of storytelling AND gearing up for the exciting all-new From the Ashes era this summer! To celebrate this iconic franchise’s recent milestone, acclaimed artist Scott Koblish has crafted an insanely epic connecting cover that will grace some of the most highly-anticipated upcoming X-Men comic releases. The piece will be presented as a wraparound cover on four issues, starting with June’s X-MEN #35, the 700^th issue of Uncanny X-Men. Then, it can be found on the debut issues of the three From the Ashes flagship titles—Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman’s X-MEN #1, Gail Simone and David Marquez’s UNCANNY X-MEN #1, and Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero’s EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN #1. 

Showcasing the entirety of the X-Men’s 60-year publication history, including core X-Men series as well as spinoffs and limited series, this breathtaking group shot spotlights A-List X-Men, obscure mutants, super villains, allies, super hero guest stars, and much more. Test your knowledge of the mutant mythos by finding your favorites and identifying as many characters as you can! 

Marvel Comics press release

Fans can pre-order the above books now to lock up their own copies and create the full image. That’s a series of releases that starts with June 5th’s X-Men #35, which is actually the aforementioned “legacy” issue #700. Why Marvel doesn’t just go back to that numbering continues to boggle the mind, as it’s way more impressive than just another ‘#1’, but that’s the state of the industry right now. Anyway, once X-Men #35 hits the stands, it’ll be on to X-Men #1 on July 10th for part two of Koblish’s work.