Alex Ross Celebrates the X-Men and Avengers’ 60th Anniversaries With Commemorative Covers (Exclusive)

Legendary cover artist Alex Ross is bringing his talents to a set of variant covers to celebrate the 60th anniversaries of the X-Men and Avengers. Marvel Comics has a presence at the ComicsPro Summit being held in Pittsburg today, with VP of Sales David Gabriel and Editor-in-Chief CB Cebulski on hand for some exciting announcements. The first of those announcements came yesterday, with Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch returning to the Ultimate Universe for Ultimate Invasion. Now we have word of Marvel recruiting Alex Ross to illustrate variant covers celebrating memorable moments from the X-Men and Avengers’ long-storied histories.

ComicBook.com can exclusively share the X-Men and Avengers 60th anniversary variant covers by artist Alex Ross, which were revealed at ComicsPro. They both commemorate the X-Men and Avengers 60th anniversaries and will also serve as variant covers for upcoming issues this year. Both harken back to the past of both franchises, with the X-Men cover homaging Jim Lee’s gatefold cover of 1991’s X-Men #1 with Chris Claremont. The X-Men team of Cyclops, Wolverine, Iceman, Rogue, Psylocke, Gambit, Colossus, Beast, Archangel, Storm, Jean Grey, and Professor X are shown attacking Magneto.

As for the Avengers cover, it features Earth’s Mightiest Heroes assembling, with just about every member of the Avengers from the ’80s and ’90s depicted, with Captain America leading the charge. Along with mainstays Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk, we have Black Panther, Monica Rambeau in her Captain Marvel costume, Black Knight, Starfox, Mar-Vell, Falcon, Moondragon, Giant-Man, She-Hulk, Hercules, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Namor, Tigra, Stingray, and many more.

X-Men: 60 Uncanny Years Live Virtual Event Announced

2023 signals the 60th anniversary of the X-Men, and Marvel Comics is giving subscribers of Marvel Unlimited the opportunity to take a journey through the history of mutantkind with a behind-the-scenes virtual event in March.

The X-Men: 60 Uncanny Years live virtual event kicks off on Thursday, March 16th at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Fans can go hear from some of the icons of X-Men lore with live interviews, fan Q&As, giveaways, exclusive announcements, and more. Marvel Unlimited Annual and Annual Plus members are eligible to register and attend this exclusive event for free.

Some of the creators that will be on hand for X-Men: 60 Uncanny Years includes Chris Claremont, Walt and Louise Simonson, Rob Liefeld, Marc Silvestri, Gerry Duggan, Jonathan Hickman, and more. As an added bonus, special guests from X-Men: The Animated Series (Eric Lewald and Julia Lewald) and writer Beau DeMayo of the upcoming X-Men ’97 animated series for Disney+ will relive epic moments and share the secrets behind your favorite X-Men characters. Current Marvel Unlimited Annual or Annual Plus members can RSVP for the event. If you. need to sign up or upgrade your Marvel Unlimited Annual or Annual plus tier, you can go to marvel.com/xmen60event.