X-Men: Grand Design

[KillingAScarab]

The first issue of X-Men: Grand Design has been distributed. I'm interested in reading what other fans of webcomics have to say about it, as I see a number of parallels in the creation process. For those who aren't aware of the project, it's an attempt by Ed Piskor to craft one continuous story out of around 260 issues of X-Men comics (https://news.marvel.com/comics/72231/x-men-grand-design-epic-undertaking/), entirely by himself. It is a seven days per week endeavor to condense that history down to six 40-page comics to be published over three years. In an interview (http://www.xplainthexmen.com/2017/11/174-ed-piskors-grand-design/) on Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men, Ed Piskor had also stated that each page is intended to be a self-contained unit of story.

[JeenLeen]

Don't the comics, at certain times, directly contradict one another or have different continuities going on? If so, has he stated rules as to how to reconcile them or which trumps which?

Otherwise, it sounds really cool and something I might enjoy reading. Well, not really 'otherwise'--sounds cool regardless, and I hope the guy succeeds. I like X-Men (mainly from cartoons and collectable cards when I was a kid) but never got into the comics to a great degree. But I've heard that continuity is usually an issue with comics over time.

[KillingAScarab]

Don't the comics, at certain times, directly contradict one another or have different continuities going on? If so, has he stated rules as to how to reconcile them or which trumps which?

Otherwise, it sounds really cool and something I might enjoy reading. Well, not really 'otherwise'--sounds cool regardless, and I hope the guy succeeds. I like X-Men (mainly from cartoons and collectable cards when I was a kid) but never got into the comics to a great degree. But I've heard that continuity is usually an issue with comics over time.Long-running superhero comic continuity is a valid concern. As it is intended to offer a good introduction to the X-Men, part of the project does involve choosing one version of events over another, but this isn't intended to become a new canon. No hard and fast rules have been created for how to handle continuity problems, but Ed Piskor did address this to an extent in the interview X-Plain the X-Men podcast interview linked earlier.

I will keep this vague, but the framing device for this story is that Uatu the Watcher is telling Recorder the story of the X-Men. So, this comic is going through their history and related events in chronological order. The first issue of X-Men: Grand Design uses this approach to weave in elements early which wouldn't have been around until later. The Phoenix force, Magneto's backstory as a Holocaust survivor, the Shadow King, and Jean Grey's secret training all would have been written much later, but are already there in the first issue of Grand Design. In my opinion Jean is introduced to the team in a much better way than how it was handled in X-Men #1, removing some of the unsavory parts of how Stan Lee wrote Charles Xavier. Characters are still making some of the same mistakes, but Charles Xavier's relationship with Gabrielle Haller has some slight changes to it. We also see Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, and for now they are just two mutants which Magneto rescued. Their parentage is entirely sidestepped.

[JoshL]

Honestly not a huge fan of the art style, but the guy is local (he's going to be at the tiny indie con around here this year) and I love the concept. Haven't picked up the first yet, but looking forward to reading when a few issues are out. This interview might be of interest too:

https://amp.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/12/chris-claremont-ed-piskor-reflect-on-the-grand-des.html

[KillingAScarab]

Honestly not a huge fan of the art style, but the guy is local (he's going to be at the tiny indie con around here this year) and I love the concept. Haven't picked up the first yet, but looking forward to reading when a few issues are out. This interview might be of interest too:

https://amp.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/12/chris-claremont-ed-piskor-reflect-on-the-grand-des.htmlWell, the second issue will be out in January and then... you'll have a bit of a wait for #3. :smallamused: As the intro to that Piskor and Claremont interview mentions (though it gets the count wrong), every two 40-page issues will be collected into a book.

[JoshL]

Yeah, I'll probably collect the books. I blame Vertigo for getting me hooked on the trade format

[KillingAScarab]

Issue #2 has been released. While issue #1 laid the ground work for the X-Men, #2 tells the story of the X-Men from Cape Citadel until just before "Second Genesis*." A number of things from Chris Claremont's run are also set up in this issue, including the Dark Phoenix saga. The Super-Adaptoid is also given a new origin to make its defeat by Mimic make sense. I think the goal of making each page stand on its own was better met in issue #1, but I think the progression of the panels generally worked better in #2. There are three different panels of the Juggernaut just running through everything and he leaves the panel border in the 3rd. Would love to know what others think of it.

*The Amazing Adventures (http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Amazing_Adventures_Vol_2_11) stories where Beast turned furry, the Champions of Los Angeles, and Beast's time on the Avengers hasn't happened. No sign of the elements from "Deadly Genesis," either. I hope the time mutants were being kidnapped by Richard Nixon's Secret Empire also comes up.