X-Men '97 Making-of Art Book Goes Behind the Scenes of the Marvel Studios Animated Series

X-Men '97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series book goes on sale in 2025.

By Cameron Bonomolo

"To me, my X-Men." With those words, Cyclops (Ray Chase) summoned the mutants of X-Men: The Animated Series out of the 1990s and into a new age: Wolverine (Cal Dodd), Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith), Rogue (Lenore Zann), Gambit (A.J. LoCascio), Beast (George Buza), Bishop (Isaac Robinson-Smith), and Morph (J.P. Karliak). Along with Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale), Jubilee (Holly Chou), Sunspot (Gui Agustini), and new leader Magneto (Matthew Waterson), the X-Men returned in the Emmy-nominated Marvel Animation series X-Men '97.

With a second and third season of the acclaimed animated show already in development, Marvel Studios is tiding fans over with behind-the-scenes intel from the 10-episode first season streaming on Disney+. After premiering a making-of documentary special, Marvel is going even deeper into the production of the series with the official X-Men '97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series book.

The 224-page hardcover from Abrams Books is slated for release on April 29, 2025, and retails for $50. Pre-orders are live here on Amazon.

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(Photo:

Cover artwork not final.

- Marvel Studios / Abrams Books)

According to a description from Abrams Books, "The Art X-Men '97 takes fans behind the scenes of Marvel Studios Animation's spiritual sequel to X-Men: The Animated Series. Picking up where the original series left off when it aired its final episode in September 1997, this new series features returning cast members and a revamped but familiar art style."

Contained in its pages are "storyboards, character sketches, vehicle designs, new costumes, stills, animatic frames, cels" and more, offering fans a peek into every step of the process from design, to animation, to production. The official behind-the-scenes art book is written by James Fields (The Art of The Batman) and features a foreward by executive producer Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation at Marvel Studios.

"This is the first X-Men title produced by Marvel Studios," Winderbaum said of the series. "What an amazing first step to reintroduce audiences to the X-Men with a look at one of the most pinnacle eras of the X-Men comics, which was the '90s. That iconic style that has its roots in Chris Claremont, and is celebrated in Jim Lee, and then again in The Animated Series."

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Giving an update on X-Men '97 season 2, Winderbaum told the Official Marvel Podcast: "We've got big plans for the second season. I've already seen all the animatics, and we're well on our way to creating something that hits the heights of the first season. I know the first season is an emotional ride; that ride continues in a very X-Men fashion in the second season."

X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men '97 are available to stream now on Disney+.

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