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X-Men: Grand Design #1-6
X-Men: Grand Design Omnibus
Over six tumultuous decades, the X-Men have carved a singular place in comic book lore and popular culture. Now, New York Times best-selling author Ed Piskor (Hip-Hop Family Tree, Wizzywig) takes you on a pulse-pounding tour of X-Men history unlike anything you've ever experienced before - an intricate labor of love that stitches together hundreds of classic and obscure stories into one seamless X-Men masterpiece! All three of Piskor's GRAND DESIGN series are collected in a single volume for the first time - taking you from Professor X's formation of the original team, through the Second Genesis of the All-New, All-Diff erent X-Men and the devastating Dark Phoenix Saga, to the 1980s epics like Inferno that pushed mutantkind to the brink of X-tinction!
COLLECTING: X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN (2017) 1-2, X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN - SECOND GENESIS (2018) 1-2, X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN - X-TINCTION (2019) 1-2
COLLECTING: X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN (2017) 1-2, X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN - SECOND GENESIS (2018) 1-2, X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN - X-TINCTION (2019) 1-2
488 pages, Hardcover
Published September 15, 2020
27 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Ed Piskor
84 books201 followersEd Piskor had been cartooning professionally in print form since 2005, starting off drawing American Splendor comics written by Harvey Pekar. The duo continued working together on 2 graphic novels, Macedonia, and The Beats. Ed began self publishing Wizzywig after developing a huge interest in the history of Hacking and Phone Phreaking. 3 volumes, making up 3/4 of the full story, have been published to date.
Recently Ed had designed the characters for the new Adult Swim series, Mongo Wrestling Alliance.
Recently Ed had designed the characters for the new Adult Swim series, Mongo Wrestling Alliance.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 19, 2021
4 stars for the three story arcs, 3 stars for the total package.
Piskor does a really good job condensing a HUGE amount of history into a coherent summary. This is no small feat, given how many retcons and time travel stories the X-Men have seen, and how many mutant books Marvel started to put out, especially during the Extinction Agenda years. This is definitely not a strict retelling of the X-Men's story; Piskor is definitely massaging some things to make the stories make more sense or to fit pieces together that weren't necessarily clear at the time (e.g. Mr. Sinister's motivations during the Mutant Massacre were never clearly explained at the time [and, indeed, his involvement wasn't even made clear until much later], but Piskor makes clear his involvement from the beginning and provides at least a modicum of motivation for the attack, which, to my mind, was never really done in the actual X-Men books). So, if you're looking for a 100% accurate history/biography of the X-Men, this isn't it. If you're looking for something that creates a coherent narrative of 30+ years of X-Men stories while smoothing over some of the weird gaps and lost threads, this will definitely do that for you.
As far as the book itself goes, like the rest of Marvel's omnibus releases, this is a hefty tome, but I find myself wondering if the content (and high price tag) is really justified. The three story arcs clock in at a mere 258 pages, then there are reprints of X-Men 1, Giant Size 1, and X-Men 268 (the Wolverine in WWII meeting Captain America issue) for another 89 pages, an additional 8 pages of Piskor's art, and the remainder is the "script" of the three arcs.
This is totally a personal preference, but I just don't find the inclusion of the script to be that compelling, nor do I think the inclusion of three already *heavily* reprinted issues is necessary. The art and photographs are more interesting inclusions, and I could see how including a couple of pages of the script (perhaps pages that show the differences from conception to execution?) would be nice, but cutting out the script and unnecessary reprints would have made this feel like a much better value. As it stands, nearly half the length of the book consists of already reprinted material or the script. For comparison, the hardcover of X-Tinction Agenda is 304 pages long, includes 12 pages of bonus material (pin-ups, promotional art, deleted scenes), and has an MSRP of half this volume. That kind of release would feel much more appropriate for the volume of real material, here, and would have felt like a much better value. As it is, it's hard for me to recommend this to people, because the extra material feels bloated and unnecessary. It doesn't feel like a hundred dollars of content, really.
Still, a fun read, and one I'd recommend fans of the X-Men check out, even if just for a reminder of how bonkers some of those early stories were. Plus, always nice to see Piskor's work, though I know his style isn't for everyone.
Piskor does a really good job condensing a HUGE amount of history into a coherent summary. This is no small feat, given how many retcons and time travel stories the X-Men have seen, and how many mutant books Marvel started to put out, especially during the Extinction Agenda years. This is definitely not a strict retelling of the X-Men's story; Piskor is definitely massaging some things to make the stories make more sense or to fit pieces together that weren't necessarily clear at the time (e.g. Mr. Sinister's motivations during the Mutant Massacre were never clearly explained at the time [and, indeed, his involvement wasn't even made clear until much later], but Piskor makes clear his involvement from the beginning and provides at least a modicum of motivation for the attack, which, to my mind, was never really done in the actual X-Men books). So, if you're looking for a 100% accurate history/biography of the X-Men, this isn't it. If you're looking for something that creates a coherent narrative of 30+ years of X-Men stories while smoothing over some of the weird gaps and lost threads, this will definitely do that for you.
As far as the book itself goes, like the rest of Marvel's omnibus releases, this is a hefty tome, but I find myself wondering if the content (and high price tag) is really justified. The three story arcs clock in at a mere 258 pages, then there are reprints of X-Men 1, Giant Size 1, and X-Men 268 (the Wolverine in WWII meeting Captain America issue) for another 89 pages, an additional 8 pages of Piskor's art, and the remainder is the "script" of the three arcs.
This is totally a personal preference, but I just don't find the inclusion of the script to be that compelling, nor do I think the inclusion of three already *heavily* reprinted issues is necessary. The art and photographs are more interesting inclusions, and I could see how including a couple of pages of the script (perhaps pages that show the differences from conception to execution?) would be nice, but cutting out the script and unnecessary reprints would have made this feel like a much better value. As it stands, nearly half the length of the book consists of already reprinted material or the script. For comparison, the hardcover of X-Tinction Agenda is 304 pages long, includes 12 pages of bonus material (pin-ups, promotional art, deleted scenes), and has an MSRP of half this volume. That kind of release would feel much more appropriate for the volume of real material, here, and would have felt like a much better value. As it is, it's hard for me to recommend this to people, because the extra material feels bloated and unnecessary. It doesn't feel like a hundred dollars of content, really.
Still, a fun read, and one I'd recommend fans of the X-Men check out, even if just for a reminder of how bonkers some of those early stories were. Plus, always nice to see Piskor's work, though I know his style isn't for everyone.
February 24, 2023
Compilación de los tres tomos de Piskor que repasan la historia de la Patrulla X desde sus inicios hasta los 90. El dibujo underground de Piskor y la forma en que cuenta la historia me han gustado mucho aunque siempre preferiría los comics originales. Pero es una buena manera de entrar para el lector joven que no quiera pasar por los comics clásicos que tenían una narrativa muy diferente a los de ahora donde prima la acción. Es ideal para alguien que quiera retomar los comics actuales desde donde los dejo en los 90.
Eso sí el último tomo es más flojito y la masacre de los mutantes y Inferno se explican a corre prisa con lo que si no lees los originales te quedas igual.
Eso sí el último tomo es más flojito y la masacre de los mutantes y Inferno se explican a corre prisa con lo que si no lees los originales te quedas igual.
January 12, 2023
Grand Design is the best revisionist history of 60s X-Men, tying it all together elegantly with the Claremont plotlines. The ending is also a really cool way to wrap up a miniseries and tie this universe in with our own, instead of just being another retcon nobody will remember. Those three issues are totally cool.
The rest of the Omni, not so much. The middle three issues are a love letter to the Claremont run, with a lot less revision and a lot more reiteration of stories, which really takes the wind out of the sails of the series. The scripts are very cool for budding artists, but we really didn't need a complete script for the entire miniseries. The recolored classic issues were a great nostalgia hit, but again, the audience for this book has already read these stories with a different color scheme.
Overall, if this had been a trade, I would have enjoyed it more, which is a wild thing to say.
The rest of the Omni, not so much. The middle three issues are a love letter to the Claremont run, with a lot less revision and a lot more reiteration of stories, which really takes the wind out of the sails of the series. The scripts are very cool for budding artists, but we really didn't need a complete script for the entire miniseries. The recolored classic issues were a great nostalgia hit, but again, the audience for this book has already read these stories with a different color scheme.
Overall, if this had been a trade, I would have enjoyed it more, which is a wild thing to say.
October 2, 2023
X-Men Grand Design by Ed Piskor.
Finally dove into this one! Classic X-Men stuff but with the sort of indie/underground style artwork from Eddie P. Getting more and more in the mood for The X-Men lately, and that classic era of Marvel. And this one is right up my alley. The artwork is fantastic, and Piskor knows his X-Men stuff for sure. One minor is that this book has no right to be a Omnibus, it gets filled up with a full script and early sketches that are almost half the book. Great read, but a not so good feeling about bumping the pages up with filler.
3.5 stars
Finally dove into this one! Classic X-Men stuff but with the sort of indie/underground style artwork from Eddie P. Getting more and more in the mood for The X-Men lately, and that classic era of Marvel. And this one is right up my alley. The artwork is fantastic, and Piskor knows his X-Men stuff for sure. One minor is that this book has no right to be a Omnibus, it gets filled up with a full script and early sketches that are almost half the book. Great read, but a not so good feeling about bumping the pages up with filler.
3.5 stars
February 6, 2022
Grand Desing es una obra perfecta para aquellos (como yo) que recientemente se están adentrando al mundo de los comics de X-MEN, y que además no tienen el tiempo o el acceso a los miles de números que dieron luz a las primeras aventuras mutantes. Algunos resúmenes son algo bruscos, pero ayudan al lector a entender las bases de muchos personajes importantes y arcos argumentales que hasta la fecha aún tienen consecuencias relevantes para los protagonistas. Fue una lectura muy divertida.
December 12, 2020
This was a cross between an ambitious history of the X-Men and one of those free recap comics you sometimes get before a big event. Ed Piskor did six issues of this series that cover the first thirty years of the mutant comic book series. The first two issues were released as X-Men: Grand Design, followed by X-Men: Grand Design - Second Genesis and finally X-Men: Grand Design - X-Tinction. It's a very ambitious plan which worked fairly well for an overview of the team but the individual histories of the characters are so convoluted that newcomers will still be lost at times.
This idea works best in the early years of the book, with the original assemblage of X-Men and history of Charles Xavier doing well in a concise version. Around the point of the Dark Phoenix Saga, the X-Men history starts to get pretty crazy that even streamlining it is no help. Cable, Jean Grey, and the New Mutants all get the short end of the stick here although they weren't as much fleshed out until later on. This book was at its best when it was fitting stuff like the origin of the Starjammers into the correct chronology of the X-Men and I'd have liked to see more of the stuff that came later but was seeded earlier included here.
Piskor's art style is a bit jarring but actually fits really well for a timeless feel to the story. The colors are very muted and the pages look older which feels a bit gimmicky but I'm not complaining. Some of the scenes were more violent than I remembered them being in the comics and although there's nothing here I'd say was explicitly for adult audiences both the dense read and occasional blood were probably better suited for kids 10 and up.
The omnibus format was nice to get the whole story along with a few reprints, but if Piskor does a few more volumes of this I'd much rather get those collected with the six issues here and avoid the reprints. I could see this format also being goof for a series like Fantastic Four or even Batman. At a $100 price tag, the fewer reprints included the better though I love the way these look on my shelves.
This idea works best in the early years of the book, with the original assemblage of X-Men and history of Charles Xavier doing well in a concise version. Around the point of the Dark Phoenix Saga, the X-Men history starts to get pretty crazy that even streamlining it is no help. Cable, Jean Grey, and the New Mutants all get the short end of the stick here although they weren't as much fleshed out until later on. This book was at its best when it was fitting stuff like the origin of the Starjammers into the correct chronology of the X-Men and I'd have liked to see more of the stuff that came later but was seeded earlier included here.
Piskor's art style is a bit jarring but actually fits really well for a timeless feel to the story. The colors are very muted and the pages look older which feels a bit gimmicky but I'm not complaining. Some of the scenes were more violent than I remembered them being in the comics and although there's nothing here I'd say was explicitly for adult audiences both the dense read and occasional blood were probably better suited for kids 10 and up.
The omnibus format was nice to get the whole story along with a few reprints, but if Piskor does a few more volumes of this I'd much rather get those collected with the six issues here and avoid the reprints. I could see this format also being goof for a series like Fantastic Four or even Batman. At a $100 price tag, the fewer reprints included the better though I love the way these look on my shelves.
March 4, 2022
Swoiste the best of początków historii X-men, stanowiące też streszczenie albo prasówkę z najważniejszych wydarzeń z przygód grupy dowodzonej przez profesora X. Dla weterana serii coś co wprowadzi go w mocną nostalgię, a dla laika będzie skrótowcem, który pomoże zorientować się o co chodzi, kiedy postacie wspominają o pewnych wydarzeniach.
To co robi od razu wrażenie, to stylistyka. Całość wygląda tak, jakby była rzeczywiście komiksem sprzed 1990 roku. I nie muszę wyjaśniać, że komiksy sprzed tego okresu bywają bardzo siermiężne w odbiorze. Tutaj nic takiego nie następuje. Może całość wygląda jak oldschool, ale Piskor uczynił całość bardzo przystępną dla początkującego czytelnika. Dlatego czyta się to wszystko bardzo szybko i przyjemnie, choć miejscami narracja bywa chaotyczna.
I tak widzimy, jak formuje się najsłynniejsza ekipa w Marvelu, może poza Avengers, na początku, aby spuścić łomot samemu Magneto. Mamy początkową piąteczkę, w skład której ma wejść za chwilę Jean Grey. Mamy drugą genezę, gdzie nowa grupa X-men rusza na pomoc tej starej, uwięzionej na Kroace. Mamy Sentinele, które polują na mutantów. Mamy Złe Bractwo Mutantów czy Hellfire Club, na przeciw którym stają nasi herosi. Mamy wreszcie Sagę Phoenix czy starcie z Mr. Sinisterem. Naprawdę sporo tego, a nie wyczerpałem wcale listy wydarzeń.
Kończąc ostatnią stronę mamy jeszcze okazję przyjrzeć się kilku odrestaurowanym zeszytom, jak chociażby X-Men 1, Giant Size 1 oraz X-Men 268, które ładnie porównują to co zrobił Piskor. A zrobił naprawdę lwią robotę, która wręcz zasługuje na szacunek za wiedzę i nakład pracy, jaka kosztowała autora. I się opłaciło. Gdyby tylko nie ten chaos, jaki pojawia się w prowadzeniu akcji.
To co robi od razu wrażenie, to stylistyka. Całość wygląda tak, jakby była rzeczywiście komiksem sprzed 1990 roku. I nie muszę wyjaśniać, że komiksy sprzed tego okresu bywają bardzo siermiężne w odbiorze. Tutaj nic takiego nie następuje. Może całość wygląda jak oldschool, ale Piskor uczynił całość bardzo przystępną dla początkującego czytelnika. Dlatego czyta się to wszystko bardzo szybko i przyjemnie, choć miejscami narracja bywa chaotyczna.
I tak widzimy, jak formuje się najsłynniejsza ekipa w Marvelu, może poza Avengers, na początku, aby spuścić łomot samemu Magneto. Mamy początkową piąteczkę, w skład której ma wejść za chwilę Jean Grey. Mamy drugą genezę, gdzie nowa grupa X-men rusza na pomoc tej starej, uwięzionej na Kroace. Mamy Sentinele, które polują na mutantów. Mamy Złe Bractwo Mutantów czy Hellfire Club, na przeciw którym stają nasi herosi. Mamy wreszcie Sagę Phoenix czy starcie z Mr. Sinisterem. Naprawdę sporo tego, a nie wyczerpałem wcale listy wydarzeń.
Kończąc ostatnią stronę mamy jeszcze okazję przyjrzeć się kilku odrestaurowanym zeszytom, jak chociażby X-Men 1, Giant Size 1 oraz X-Men 268, które ładnie porównują to co zrobił Piskor. A zrobił naprawdę lwią robotę, która wręcz zasługuje na szacunek za wiedzę i nakład pracy, jaka kosztowała autora. I się opłaciło. Gdyby tylko nie ten chaos, jaki pojawia się w prowadzeniu akcji.
January 18, 2024
20 Years of X-Men History With Direction
If you ever needed a layman's look at where the X-Men came from and went, this is a great place to start. From the days of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, that haphazard run has a direction while cutting in and out pieces of history like Prof. X and Magneto's relationship and the Phoenix Force have been a huge plot since the beginning. Doesn't always have the same emotional beats, but it sure does present the Climax with Days of Future Past's buildup and other time travel shenanigans as something to change after a lot of slip-ups and failures while guiding readers into the rest of the comics they're going to love. Finally, gotta give credit to presenting debut comics in aged styles, making it look timeless. Plus, one Wolverine story since most people don't see the complexities that made people fans in most of this.
If you ever needed a layman's look at where the X-Men came from and went, this is a great place to start. From the days of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, that haphazard run has a direction while cutting in and out pieces of history like Prof. X and Magneto's relationship and the Phoenix Force have been a huge plot since the beginning. Doesn't always have the same emotional beats, but it sure does present the Climax with Days of Future Past's buildup and other time travel shenanigans as something to change after a lot of slip-ups and failures while guiding readers into the rest of the comics they're going to love. Finally, gotta give credit to presenting debut comics in aged styles, making it look timeless. Plus, one Wolverine story since most people don't see the complexities that made people fans in most of this.
January 5, 2022
A fun, memorable and nostalgic retelling of the first couple of decades of X-Men comics. Grand Design does a fantastic job trying to make sense of more than 25 years of messy, iconic and chaotic X-Men stories. Though I think one thing is more than clear after reading Grand Design: the X-Men work much better when they deal with social and political problems stemming from their status as mutants than when they deal with science fiction problems like alien races, body swapping and demons.
July 2, 2024
I wish I had this book when I was a kid. This story ends just about where I started reading x-men, and the biggest barrier was the insane backstory at the time. Wizard magazine could only provide brief clues to all this material, which is covered in both loving detail and much needed summarization.
The indie art sensibilities are a perfect match for retelling the overwrought storylines of the late 70s and 80s. It is serious, but takes the piss at the same time.
The indie art sensibilities are a perfect match for retelling the overwrought storylines of the late 70s and 80s. It is serious, but takes the piss at the same time.
February 25, 2023
6.5/10
Cool little recap of X-Men history. I'm glad I read this so I can save myself a load of time and money. Granted, some of the stories are a little wacky and do feel dated, but in some ways I feel like this is a shortcut that serves as a jumping on point for modern X-Men. This book gives me an appreciation for the history without having to read decades of comics.
Cool little recap of X-Men history. I'm glad I read this so I can save myself a load of time and money. Granted, some of the stories are a little wacky and do feel dated, but in some ways I feel like this is a shortcut that serves as a jumping on point for modern X-Men. This book gives me an appreciation for the history without having to read decades of comics.
September 5, 2024
Ambitious and sometimes entertaining. What a massive undertaking, trying to distill decades of comics into one volume. That wide scope left me (someone totally new to Marvel comics) sometimes scratching my head, and picking up on the somewhat uneven story quality over the years. And I wish I had a better understanding of the characters themselves, rather than just major plot points.
August 2, 2025
A great, comprehensive summary of decades of X-Men comics. The art by Piskor keeps this old-school aesthetic to be a good homage to these mutant epics. It can get a bit text-heavy and a lot of cramped panels per page, but honestly, it’s even a miracle we are able to have a book like this that can take us to the most important moments of the 20th century.
August 26, 2023
O Ed Piskor faz aqui a mesma magia que o Kurt Busiek fez em Marvels e apresenta uma cronologia pra (extremamente bagunçada) história dos X-Men.
O estilo de narrativa é bem “por cima” (afinal, é BASTANTE coisa), mas é um resumo bem legal de tudo, aliado a uma estética bem maneira.
O estilo de narrativa é bem “por cima” (afinal, é BASTANTE coisa), mas é um resumo bem legal de tudo, aliado a uma estética bem maneira.
August 4, 2024
Felt more like a chore to grasp X-men lore. I am simply not a fan of 'classic' comic books and its overly verbose style. Found myself skimming what felt like fluff text. Overall however, it did entice me to read further into this series and that itself excites me
February 3, 2020
Hay tanto amor vertido en este cómic.
I can't even.
I can't even.
November 26, 2020
If you want to understand the complex history of the x-men in comics, look no further, this is the most concise and complete history of the X-men and their lore.
August 2, 2021
Fantastic X-Men Primer on the early history of the X-Men. Would be a great jumping on point for new fans.
March 3, 2023
Fun read! Chapter 6 got a little confusing, but that could be because I haven’t gotten to that era in the Claremont Uncanny X-Men run yet.
May 11, 2023
A great starter pack to anyone who wants to read X-Men. It is also a gift to old X-Men fans.
Read
March 19, 2025x-men? yeah i sure hope there is
August 22, 2024
I regret spending so much money on this
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews