When recounting the history of the X-Men, few figures are as important as John Byrne. The artist and storyteller was an important collaborator on classic stories like The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. He has had a tumulus history with the X-Line, leaving disgruntled in the early 80s, 90s, and 00s. Those bad feelings aside, the X-Men have obviously held an important place in Byrne’s life, and in 2018, they are something he wants to revisit.
As seen on the Tumblr account John Byrne Draws, Byrne felt an itch to revisit the X-Men. Somewhat inspired by Chris Claremont’s X-MEN FOREVER, a series that examined what the X-Books might have looked like if Claremont was never pushed out of the line, is Byrne’s X-MEN ELSEWHEN. Byrne is picking up after the original ending of Uncanny X-Men #136 with Jean Grey not dying on the moon. From there he has penciled eight pages and lettered two of them.
The story takes place in the Savage Land, a popular Byrne location where he spent a lot of time in X-MEN: THE HIDDEN YEARS. He is taking the opportunity to elaborate on plot points he felt didn’t get their due, such as Kitty’s initial fear of Nightcrawler. He has stated he wants to do a full issue worth of story, or perhaps a double-sized one if he enjoys the work. This story is completely unofficial, closer to fan fic than and actual Marvel comic, but it is interesting none the less. You can see all eight pages below and experience a fascinating take on these classic X-Men stories.
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
