A Look Back At Planet Size X-Men

It seems like yesterday. (It wasn't)

I just turned in the longest single comic script I’ve ever generated to Marvel. It’s for this summer’s Hellfire Gala comic and it’s currently clocking in at over 70 pages. Some really wonderful artists are going to attend this year, and I can’t wait for you to see what we have in store/

I’m currently on the second major drafts with about 600 total changes, most of that is me making it better in revision mode, though there was probably a couple dozen mission critical notes from the stakeholders to get right before it goes to the next step.

I can’t talk about anything in this summer’s one shot, so I thought I’d look backward for a beat and pull the curtain back on Planet Size X-Men 1.

I write a draft for the editors, then there’s the draft for the artist. Later, when the inks are dry, I do another draft for the letterer. I try to do more with less. I punch-up, I clarify. That is why in my case, there’s almost never a singular script for any my comic collaborations. Each draft moves the project forward and they have very different purposes.

During the pandemic I was approached about cleaning up a Planet Size X-Men script to accompany a limited edition of Pepe’s inks. I wrote a forward and spent some time cleaning up the script, scrubbing it of any possible spoilers, or personal information. I made the decision not to actually combine scripts, since you can read along with the finished comic for the final lettering draft. The book shit the bed unfortunately, and I hope it sees the light of day. In the meantime, I thought’d I’ve give my subscribers a little taste.

Those first three pages of script became the three pages of roughs below. Watching Pepe draw on a zoom is really awe-inspiring. There’s an effortless beauty to the work, and that’s evident even in the rough or “thumbnail” stage seen below.

Later on in the story, the entire island of Arakko is warped to Mars, during the notes process between myself, Jonathan and Jordan a back and forth occurred and Pepe doodled the discussion.

This summer’s one shot is as big a swing as Planet Size was, and I know we’re gonna crush it. Crashing stories together is so much fun, and this summer, X-Men and Iron Man are flung together in an orbit against the forces of evil.

Seeing Pepe’s doodle above reminds me now, Greg Smallwood and I worked on a Dr. Strange issue during THE BEST DEFENSE crossover, and that’s a bit of a hidden gem. Greg thumbnailed the entire issue right on the script, in the simplest, cleanest structural planning of a comic I’ve ever seen. I’ll dig that one up for a future post.

More soon, including the return of David O’Sullivan, and some more very exciting comic book news.
Gerry