X-Men Elsewhen By John Byrne

[yogaflame]

Didn't Byrne already [basically] get to do this in X-Men: Hidden Years? Not exactly feeling this, tbh. He did a great job back in the day on pencils, but this...

[Kuwagaton]

I don't actually care for the playful idea, but I think the pencils look great and if Marvel wanted to make this a thing I'm sure I'd like it better than what they've been putting out since AvX.

[Miles To Go]

Elsewhen seems to have impressed Cebulski, who's been communicating with Byrne over fresh creative oppertunites



https://www.newsarama.com/41335-john...-new-work.html

[gurkle]

This reminds me of how Chris Claremont said a couple of years ago that reuniting him, Byrne and Terry Austin for a special X-Men project would be "the retailer fantasy of the century... It would be fun. On the other hand it could also fall flat on its face and embarrass all of us, so I’ll believe it when I see the pencils."

You do have to imagine this must be in the back of C.B.'s mind, particularly since Claremont is still technically under contract and working for them occasionally. But we'll see.

It would be hilarious if after all that time Bendis was unable to get Byrne to work on something with him, he mended fences with Marvel just as Bendis went over to DC.

[Ying Ko]

I wouldn't mind seeing Byrne working on something at Marvel, I just don't know if his art is still as good as it was back in the day

[Joker Venom]

Some of the best pencil work I've seen from Byrne in a long while. All he needs is a good inker to tighten it up.

It's really too bad, we'll never get a published version. I think it would be interesting.

[Jokerz79]

Looks great.

[Uncanny X-Man]

I would read the hell out of an X-Men book by Byrne pencilled in that style. Give the pages to Terry Austin to ink to give them a tighter look and you have magic. Or... have Byrne do the layouts on a weekly Uncanny X-Men book for other artists to finish, à la Keith Giffen on 52. Help keep the weekly schedule while enjoying Byrne's strong sense of storytelling.

[Mike]

It would be something I would want to read.
Might even take the LONG trip to the not so local Comic Shop.

[HomoSuperior]

10 characters

[HomoSuperior]

I stumbled upon Byrne's X-Men Elsewhen release over the weekend by chance. It's worth checking out and following along.

It appears Byrne committed to posting this storyline, one drawn and lettered page per weekday, at his Byrnerobotics forum sometime after his urge became a project. He recently encouraged forum members to try their hand at inking/coloring the pages and posting their work for peer review. It's all quite congenial and perhaps a model for how the comics community can more productively use internet forums.

So far Byrne’s story is a fun accessible romp that draws you in with characters returning to form while some intriguing subplots are building. The story begins shortly after X-men are returned to Earth by the Shiar after losing their duel with the Imperial Guard. If you read Dark Phoenix saga's alternate ending, many years ago, you may recall Jean survived but was lobotomized by the Shiar before being sent home. Byrne picks things up with Jean recovering with her family. But, much like the most recent HOX, something is not quite right with Jean. Meanwhile, Lilandra may have had ulterior motives for the lobotomy. And kinky tech-bro Sebastian Shaw is going for baroque testing out his new weapon program, with real consequence for the general population.

Byrne's characterizations are authentic, offering a clear sense of the team's chemistry in each panel. Cyclops is decisive. I'm enjoying seeing Logan and Kurt develop their friendship and Colossus behaving, at several turns, in an admirable, heroic light. It's not dark and gritty anti-hero fare. Instead, conflict arises from relationships and moral dilemmas as the stakes grow higher in the background. That's refreshing after decades of antihero tropes that have long since forgotten the greater-than-self stakes which drove abandoning personal moral codes. It's a wonder gun culture antiheroes are popular in our woke times. Regardless, it all still feels fresh. For example, Byrne was one of the first creators to broach contemporary identities within comics, such as Northstar's homosexuality. In these pages, we see some daring choices which would have been controversial in the 80s -- check out Nightcrawler stirring Wolverine with a peck on the cheek as they roughhouse in the mansion. Without applying too much meaning, it's a tense bromance for sure.





The penciled pages may be a challenge for some. Still, there is something oddly satisfying about Byrne's meticulous directional shading and linework in panels such as Amanda Sefton's face. There is no doubt Byrne is a master of perspective and the human form. His command of body language and facial expressions really bring characters and panels to life. His script moves the plot forward in a way that stays true to each character's voice. Byrne's commitment to authenticity is on full display in the forums too. One reader asked him about his nack for dressing the cast in unique civilian attire. Byrne notes his choice for each character comes down to what would the character choose? Implied: as opposed to what is convenient for the artist.



Byrne states he has enough material to continue self-publishing through his site, one page per day, perhaps through 2020 and beyond. It's clear this is a labor of love but unclear what events led to Byrne deciding to release this book as a fan fiction release. Speculation and hearsay about rifts between Marvel and its many creators, not just Byrne, have spilled into public forums over the years. However, CB Cebulski recently publicly sang Byrne's praises. Some internet commenters already speculate Byrne didn't get the money he was seeking. While others who dwell within Godwin's strata parrot Byrne is unwilling to play nice with others. However, by choosing to release this work as fan fiction Byrne isn't making money and he's invited fans to ink and colorize his work. People who want to believe Byrne is an insufferable artiste will choose to do so while the facts say otherwise. Contemporary attitudes are obsessed with authenticity and that seems to be the timeless motivator here. Byrne's work clearly demonstrates he is an astute observer of character and relationships. Byrne is clearly staying true to his self and characters which, over the years, have been twisted into unrecognizable antiheroes. I'm enjoying Hickman's HOX/POX. But if you want to repair X-men's convoluted continuity, perhaps that begins with a hard focus on characters not necessarily events.

Check it out over at Byrne's forum. No registration necessary.

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/f...=1&totPosts=35

Images posted to the JBF by John Byrne are ©John Byrne Incorporated or their respective copyright holders. All characters ©Marvel.

[Uncanny X-Man]

The pages look gorgeous. I always thought Byrne got progressively worse as an artist as soon as he started to take on more work - even his Fantastic Four is not comparable to his X-Men in my opinion. I was still enjoying his later work but was never a fan of his more "cartoony" style, for lack of a better term. But this is a true return to form and something that totally looks great even by today's standards and doesn't look dated by any stretch.

I'd be completely on board for Byrne's return to the X-Men in whatever form or shape if it's in this style. Make it happen CB!

[HomoSuperior]

The pages look gorgeous. I always thought Byrne got progressively worse as an artist as soon as he started to take on more work - even his Fantastic Four is not comparable to his X-Men in my opinion. I was still enjoying his later work but was never a fan of his more "cartoony" style, for lack of a better term. But this is a true return to form and something that totally looks great even by today's standards and doesn't look dated by any stretch.

I'd be completely on board for Byrne's return to the X-Men in whatever form or shape if it's in this style. Make it happen CB!

Agreed. I hate to make comparisons. Work should be judged on its own merit. But if there is room for "Major X" ... I'm not quite sure what's stopping this from being thing. Byrne has clearly plotted, scripted, and penciled a fun storyline that calls to mind why I got hooked in the first place. Anyway, I'm just glad he's releasing a page per day (weekdays). He's currently up to 4 issues at ~ 20 pages per issue. Minor exception: first issue is 38 pages.

It's also fun seeing others post their attempts at inks. Forum member Eric Ladd is doing some nice inks over the pencils. Inspired me to download the penciled pages for futzing around on my iPad. Once upon a time I was inspired to become a draftsman and comic book penciler. That might have happened if I had access to Byrne and a supportive community. But life had other plans (no regrets).

[Dark-Jacket]

As a writer, Byrne is really hit or miss. He wrote great stuff but sometimes he wrote insane rumbling.
His art has been consistently great and this pages are awesome ! I love him having an alt-take

[HomoSuperior]

As a writer, Byrne is really hit or miss. He wrote great stuff but sometimes he wrote insane rumbling.
His art has been consistently great and this pages are awesome ! I love him having an alt-take

I stumbled upon it after feeling nostalgic about Alpha Flight's invented mythology. It all calls to mind some of his best work. Big openings, cliffhangers on every page, fun characterizations and obvious subplots sprinkled throughout, and clean draftsmanship. Wolverine's knuckles are hairy AF.

Visit those pages and check out the city and home architectures vs. sci-fi settings. Imagine having the kind of talent that can envision and manifest movie-quality scenes and perspectives?! So cool.