Jim Lee’s designs for the X-Men are burned into the minds of X-Fans like the Phoenix Force itself—whether you devoured comics, fell in love with the animated series, or, perhaps, just collected some of the iconic trading cards of the era. If you’re the latter, then we’ve got some very good news.
io9 has your exclusive look inside The Uncanny X-Men Trading Cards: The Complete Series, Abrams ComicArts’ 30th anniversary celebration of Jim Lee’s iconic 105 Uncanny X-Men trading card set. Featuring an introduction by Bob Budiansky and a foreword by Ed Piskor, the book collects the backs and fronts of every card in the classic series, as well as insight from Marvel creators in interviews conducted by Budiansky, the original writer and editor on the trading card series.
As well as the beloved cards themselves, the book also takes a look at the classic packaging designs for the series across the world, and provides rare insight into Lee’s work on several of the individual cards, including process sketches and more.
The Uncanny X-Men Trading Cards: The Complete Series is set to hit shelves August 16, but for now take a look at the creation of Lee’s iconic Magneto card art, making its exclusive debut here on io9, as well as a few more previews from inside the book. Click through to see it all, my X-Men!
