To me, my X-Men ('97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series)
We love a good art book – especially when it's a good art book of a good show like X-Men '97.
by Toussaint Egan
X-Men '97 was undoubtedly one of the most impressive animated series to premiere in 2024. Based in the universe of X-Men: The Animated Series, which aired across five seasons and 76 episodes between 1992 and 1997, X-Men '97 picks up directly following the cliffhanger at the end of the original series, with a mortally wounded Professor Xavier having departed with Lilandra, his lover and empress to the extraplanetary Shi'ar empire, and the X-Men left to carry on his mission to protect humanity and mutantkind alike.
Published in July 2025, X-Men '97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series is an extensive breakdown of the first season of the series, filled to the brim with character sheets, storyboards, footnotes, prefaces, and interviews with production staff including executive producer Brad Winderbaum, X-Men: The Animated Series producers Julia and Eric Lewald, and episode director Jake Castorena ("To Me, My X-Men"). The most conspicuous absence is that of X-Men '97 creator Beau DeMayo, who was fired from the series mere days before its premiere and is mentioned all but four times between the book's forward and introduction.
That said, the book itself is an absolute trove of behind-the-scenes art and commentary, from the genesis of the team's decision to adapt fan-favorite story arcs such as Louise Simonson and Chris Claremont's "Inferno," Claremont's "Lifedeath," and Grant Morrison's "E is for Extinction," to the deliberate creative decisions behind the season's mid-season gut punch "Remember It." There's even a section early on dedicated to breaking down how the team went about reimagining the iconic theme song of X-Men: The Animated Series while paying respect to its composer, Ron Wasserman.
A detail I thought was particularly interesting was how Jake Castorena, who served as supervising producer on "Remember It," had imagined alternatives for Gambit's climactic showdown with Master Mold. "Gambit was going to land on Master Mold's head, barefoot and with no weapons," said Castorena. "He was going to charge Master Mold with his bare feet and hands, just to show that it needs to make connection with Gambit's skin—that it's not just his fingers.... I just wanted to give Gambit that moment, leaning into 'Oh, you don't kill me. I kill me.' I wanted to show him taking agency of it." Additionally, the reveal that the FX team deliberately chose to evoke "Kirby Krackle" — the distinctive visual motif of comic artist Jack Kirby — to convey the immense kinetic force of Gambit's powers in his final moments felt like a fitting tribute to not only the character himself, but one of the quintessential architects behind the X-Men.
The book is a no-brainer purchase if you're an X-Men diehard, but even if you're only a casual or nascent X-fan, X-Men '97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series is a fantastic resource offering a wealth of knowledge and insight into a passion project that toes a fine balancing act between crowd-pleasing nostalgic throwback and bold contemporary reinvention.
Check out some additional pages from the art book below and see for yourself:
X-Men '97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series is available to purchase at Amazon among other retailers.
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📺 Toussaint: I recently came across Dungeons & Television, a new indie anime about a television crew in a fantasy world that premiered on YouTube last month. The first episode is impressive, but it's the opening that really caught my eye — produced using cel paint, hand-drawn animation, and 16mm film!
🥷 Kambole: Still on holiday! And there has been very little in the way of film or television viewing. I do, however, have my Steam Deck with me, and on it I'm playing Shinobi: Art of Vengeance – which I mention because of its stylized 2D animation from the artists at Lizardcube, who also made the excellent Streets of Rage 4. Shinobi looks fantastic – lots of heavy inky lines which set it apart from similar arcade throwbacks.
🎮 Rollin: It's the busy period for my day job, so I have been spending many of my waking hours playing various video games that… I can't actually talk about quite yet. Sorry!