10 Best X-Men Creative Teams

The X-Men are one of the luckiest teams in the history of the comic industry when it comes to creators. They kicked off their existence under Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and over the last 63 years some of the greatest creators in the industry have left their mark on the team. The relationship between a writer and an artist is one of the most important in the creative process; they work together to give readers the story. A good writer listens to their artist and tries to give them something that they want to and are good at drawing; a good artist tries their best to bring the writer’s vision for the story to life. Over the decades, the X-Men have had some of the most sympatico creative teams in comics.

These teams have created the stories that have transformed the men and women of X from a dud into the most popular groups in the history of comics. They are the best of the best, giving readers stories that have stood the test of time. These are the ten best X-Men creative teams, their time together legendary.

10) Scott Lobdell/Joe Madureira

The ’90s were the decade of the X-Men and writer Scott Lobdell played a big role in that. While he’s not exactly a beloved writer, if you love ’90s X-Men, he wrote the book longer than anyone else in the decade so you love at least some of his work. He worked with numerous great artists, but the one who he was best with was easily Joe Madureira. Madureira was a ’90s version of a weeb (I met him once back then and he was so cool) and his artwork was heavily influenced by manga like Ghost in the Shell. His style mixed manga and western styles and Lobdell was able to take advantage of this, giving readers some awesome stories. They worked together on Uncanny X-Men #312-313, 316-317, 325-326, 328-330, 332, 334-338, 340-343, 345-348, 350, and Astonishing X-Men (Vol. 1) #1-4. It was always disappointing to get a non-Madureira issue back then.

9) Jonathan Hickman/Pepe Larraz

The Krakoa Era was a great time for the X-Men and it all kicked off with this creative team. Jonathan Hickman was given the X-Men books in 2019 and he kicked off his new run with House of X and Powers of X. House of X was drawn by Pepe Larraz, and it has the better art of the two. Hickman and Larraz gave readers one of the most interesting X-books of the 21st century. Larraz was able to bring Hickman’s script to life perfectly, elevating the book to its current status. Hickman worked with a lot of great artists during his time with the mutants, but no one was as great with him as Larraz was.

8) Jason Aaron/Chris Bachalo

Jason Aaron helped change the X-Men comics of the ’10s with X-Men: Schism and was made writer of Wolverine and the X-Men (Vol. 1). It kicked off with artist Chris Bachalo, an artist whose career has been partly defined by his runs with the team. They worked together on issues #1-3, 8-10, 12, 16, and #42. Bachalo’s quirky style perfectly complimented Aaron’s script. While they didn’t have a lot of issues together, Bachalo’s unique art style really fit the book better for me than co-main artist Nick Bradshaw and was a better partner for Aaron.

7) Grant Morrison/Phil Jimenez

Grant Morrison and Phil Jimenez first worked together over at DC Comics, with Jimenez joining Morrison’s The Invisibles during the first and second volumes of the series. Jimenez is one of the greatest artists in the history of the medium (also an amazing writer to boot) and Morrison was always able to bring out the best in his work. They worked on New X-Men #132, 139-141, and #146-150 and their issues together were some of the best of the entire run. Jimenez took everything Morrison threw into the script and made it look amazing. He drew the deaths of Jean Grey and Magneto (well, Xorn, but at the time we thought he was Magneto), capturing the raw emotion of these moments brilliantly.

6) Fabian Nicieza/Andy Kubert

Fabian Nicieza wrote X-Men (Vol. 2) in the early to mid ’90s, writing issues #12-45. For most of his run with the team he worked Andy Kubert, the son of DC legend Joe Kubert. Kubert had some big shoes to fill, as previously the book had been the Jim Lee book. However, he was able to step up and knock it out of the park, working perfectly with Nicieza. They worked on issues #14-20, 22-26, 28-34, 36-38, 40-41, 44-45, and Amazing X-Men (Vol. 1) #1-4. The two of them gave readers some amazing issues and watching them both grow as creators working together was a joy to behold back then.

5) Chris Claremont/Dave Cockrum

Chris Claremont revolutionized the X-Men and his 16-year run kicked off with artist Dave Cockrum. In 2026, Cockrum is one of the most underrated X-Men artists of all time; he brought the team back with Len Wein on Giant-Size X-Men #1, designing characters like Storm, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, and became the regular writer when Claremont took over. They worked together on issues #94-107, 110, 145-150, 153-158, and 161-164, setting up the Phoenix story arc, the Shi’Ar stories, and “The Brood Saga”. Claremont and Cockrum set the standard for the book’s creative team, working on some of the most important early issues of the comic.

4) Joss Whedon/John Cassaday

Astonishing X-Men (Vol. 3) is one of the most beloved series in X-Men history, all because of its original creative team of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. They worked on the first 24 issues of the book and Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1, giving readers four stories that would stand the test of the time. Their entire run together channeled the work of the X-greats of the ’80s like Claremont and Paul Smith, with Cassaday’s art hitting a new level working with Whedon. Whedon’s script would have been good with another artist, but Cassaday brought it to the level of great.

3) Chris Claremont/Paul Smith

Paul Smith didn’t draw a lot of issues of Uncanny X-Men – only #165-170 and #172-175 – but he and Claremont proved to be one of the best creative teams in the book history. Smith’s linework looks simple, but his issues have fantastic detail (I picked up a couple of Smith-drawn issues this year and they are mind-blowingly gorgeous). Smith was able to take Claremont’s scripts and bring them to life flawlessly. The action was fluid and his character acting made the emotion of the story drip off the page. If you’ve never seen their work together, you need to remedy that (I recommend original issues instead of reprints; Marvel uses modern coloring techniques to re-color old books and it usually ruins them).

2) Grant Morrison/Frank Quitely

Grant Morrison’s New X-Men was a brand new day for the team and that included the art. Throughout the ’90s, the Jim Lee pin-up style and Joe Madureira’s American manga-style were the main types of X-Men art but New X-Men would change that by kicking off with artist Frank Quitely. Morrison and Quitely worked together on issue #114-116, 121-122, 126, and 135-138. Morrison and Quitely are one of the greatest writer/artist teams ever, and their New X-Men stands tall among their various works (I put it under All-Star Superman and Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery). A lot of fans dislike it, but they’re honestly wrong. Sure, the characters look weird, but his page layouts, action, detail, figure work, and character acting are all sensational. Morrison’s weird concepts look so much better coming from Quitely.

1) Chris Claremont/John Byrne

Chris Claremont and John Byrne are the reason the X-Men are as popular as they are today. Claremont and Byrne worked together on the stories, with Byrne co-plotting the issues, and gave readers some of the most important Marvel stories, like the seminal classic “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past”. Their work together on Uncanny X-Men #108-109 and #111-143 inspired generations of creators across the industry. This is the most legendary time in the team’s history, with two creators complimenting each other beautifully.

What’s your favorite X-Men creative team? Or do you just want to yell about me not including Claremont/Lee? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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