The ’80s and ’90s were almost wall-to-wall cartoons, or at least that’s how it felt to me as a kid. And I loved it! I know they were mostly all excuses to sell toys, but darned if they didn’t burrow their way into our hearts. But while some of these shows were merely fun, even beloved, there are some that took their properties and made them iconic. The reason people love some of these things to this day is because of the animated counterpart. One of the top examples of this is, by far, X-Men: The Animated Series.
The cartoon ran for five seasons beginning in 1992 and it’s the X-media up to which all others must measure. The show is, quite simply, legendary. Two people who know this better than anyone are Eric Lewald and Julia Lewald. Eric developed the show for TV and served as executive story editor, while they were both writers on X-Men. They have compiled their knowledge and behind-the-scenes images into a fabulous new coffee table book, X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series. Nerdist is very happy to share some images from that book with you now.
Marvel/Abrams Books
It’s 288 pages of full-color representations of storyboards, production cells, comic images, toys, and more. The book will come out Tuesday, October 13 wherever you get your books. Please enjoy various pages from the book below along with captions from the authors.
Marvel/Abrams Books
“52b – Final character model for the Sentinels in our two-part pilot episode ‘Night of the Sentinels’, by [storyboard artist Rick] Hoberg.”
Marvel/Abrams Books
“87a – Painted backgrounds, overlay cels, and the two combined. Mister Sinister’s laid from ‘Till Death Us Do Part, Part 2’.”
Marvel/Abrams Books
“167a – Production cel of Gambit, Beast, Cyclops, and Rogue in the X-Mansion War Room.”
Marvel/Abrams Books
“210b.- Character models of alternate-timeline Rogue (2055), Pencils by Frank Squillace with cleanup by Mark Lewis”
Marvel/Abrams Books
“243a – Production cel of Arkon and Storm kissing.”
Marvel/Abrams Books
“243c/d- Backgrounds of two areas of the vast palace of King Arkon, designed by Squillace with cleanup by Zhaoping Wei.”
And those are just some of the hundreds of pictures you’ll find in X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series. Relive the story of one of the greatest cartoon series of the era, and maybe of all time. Available for pre-order on Amazon or wherever you get your books beginning October 13.
Featured Image: Marvel/Abrams Books
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
