What Comic Inspired X-Men: Grand Design?

If someone asks you where to start reading X-Men comics, most answers boil down to this: “That depends – how much time do you have?” That’s not to say there aren’t good jumping on points, but whatever answer you give usually comes with a “but.” "The Dark Phoenix Saga" is essential, but... New X-Men #114 is good, but... Try Astonishing X-Men, but… If you want to get into the X-Men, you need to do your homework, and that’s an understandable turn off to new readers.

There is no single comic-book franchise whose canon is more convoluted than that of the X-Men. It’s for that exact reason that the recently announced X-Men: Grand Design is a breath of relief for both long-time fans and newcomers alike. Helmed by Eisner award-winning cartoonist Ed Piskor, Grand Design will cover the first 280 issues of the Uncanny X-Men, starting with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original run and finishing up with the end of Chris Claremont’s 16-year stint as the book’s writer. Considering the X-Men’s penchant for crossovers, we can expect Piskor to dip into a couple of the franchise’s spin-off series as well, such as The New Mutants and X-Factor.

Grand Design is set to run for six 40-page issues. That’s a lot of content to pack into such a small amount of space. This shouldn’t be a problem for Piskor, however. A longtime X-Men fan, he’s spent the last five-years condensing the entire history of hip-hop culture in Hip Hop Family Tree. That’s right, the entire history. The first volume covers the 1970s up until 1981, with each subsequent volume covering a single year.

Since their 1963 debut, Marvel’s merry mutants have been burdened with dozens of spinoffs, retroactive continuity changes, and abandoned plotlines. Take Jean Grey for example. Her transformation into the Phoenix was originally the result of her abilities reaching their full potential. This was later changed to the Phoenix Force being a cosmic entity that had came to Earth and taken the form of Jean Grey, while the original Jean was placed in a healing cocoon and left at the bottom of Jamaica Bay.

Even something as simple as Wolverine’s claws has a convoluted history. Originally they weren’t part of his mutation; they were bionic implants that were added during the Weapon X procedure. They were later retconned to be pre-existing bone-claws that were coated with Adamantium.

So how do you condense roughly 30 years of X-Men comics without it becoming a dry information overload; a pseudo-Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, or something that reads with as much depth and excitement as a Wikipedia entry?

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The Secret Behind Hip-Hop Family Tree and X-Men: Grand Design

“Good cartooning is the process of stripping things away,” Piskor explained in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “You can achieve good images without fussy lines. Clean up the verbiage and tell a story everyone can understand. I want to make a cogent, lean story that explains the X-Men saga to someone coming to it for the first time.”

Piskor understands the importance of brevity; tell a lot with only a little. The Hip Hop Family Tree strips are originally published as two-page web-comics, and in that amount of space he’s able to craft a coherent and entertaining story. Where he shines most is his attention to detail with every strip jam-packed with information, leaving no stone unturned.

Did you know that Blondie’s single “Rapture” was the first rap music video to be broadcast on MTV, and featured artist Jean-Michel Basquiat standing in as Grandmaster Flash? Before becoming Run of RUN-D.M.C., Joseph Simmons’s older brother wouldn't let him rap until he had a high-school diploma? Did you know Afrika Bambaataa and Kool Herc would replace the labels on their records to confuse rival DJs and stop them from biting their style? Did you know the Beastie Boys toured with Madonna in 1985?

As a piece of music non-fiction, Hip Hop Family Tree stands along the best of them. Flip to the back of a Hip Hop Family Tree book, and you’ll find an extensive list of reference material: genre criticism, artist biographies, music videos, documentaries, podcasts, albums and websites. You name it, Piskor has probably read, heard or watched it.

Even with such an exhaustive amount of reference material, Piskor still manages to pack in a ton of information without the book becoming unreadable. He explains everything so you never feel lost or overwhelmed with information. Hip Hop Family Tree’s narrative is sprawling, jumping from character to character without making the reader feel lost. With something as lore and character heavy as the X-Men, that ability to balance information and story is definitely important. Knowing Piskor there’ll be plenty of fun X-Men facts and tidbits peppered throughout. Did you know Wolverine’s origin was that he was actually a genetically engineered wolverine?

Hip Hop Family Tree is designed to look and feel like a Marvel comic from the seventies or eighties, from the colour palette to the use of zip-a-tone, right down to the paper it’s printed on. Judging by the previews of X-Men: Grand Design that aesthetic is fully intact. It’s one thing to retell something that happened forty years ago, but to use the comic’s physical presentation as a throwback to that period too is dedication to the craft.

As much as Hip Hop Family Tree is aimed at rap fans, Piskor doesn't hold back when it comes to wearing his artistic influences on his sleeve.. The series is full of references and homages to iconic comic moments and art styles. Rapper KRS-One’s ferocious rapping ability is represented by a force of Kirby-dots being shot from his mouth, recalling the Inhuman Black Bolt. There’s a homage to Jim Lee’s opening page of X-Men #3 featuring Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force. In 2015, Fantagraphics began publishing Hip Hop Family Tree as a 12-issue with every cover being homage to iconic covers such as Amazing Spider-Man #129, Superman #199 and Giant-Size X-Men #1. There’s even a mini-comic included in the series’ first boxset that details the Spike Lee directed ad for Levi button fly jeans that featured Rob Liefeld, drawn in a perfect homage to Liefeld’s style.

Like any good rap artist, Piskor also understands the importance of sampling, of taking something old and repurposing it into something new. You can enjoy songs like “Power” or “Touch the Sky” by Kanye West without knowing that they sample King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” and Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up”, respectively. That’s sampling philosophy is something built into the DNA of comics. Artist's like to pay tribute to their influences or iconic moments of the medium's history. Just how many covers are there that homage Uncanny X-Men #141?

That’s something to look forward to in X-Men Grand Design, as Piskor is bound to let the influences of Uncanny X-Men’s artists seep into his work. Long-time X-Men readers will pick up on the references – a John Byrne wink here, a John Romita Jr. nod there – and enjoy the shout out, while those unaware readers who are new to the franchise can still read it uninhibited. You don’t need to know what the cover of Uncanny X-Men #100 looks like to appreciate the cover of Hip Hop Family Tree #6.

Hip Hop Family Tree is consistently one of the best comics out there, excelling as both a documentary and a comic book. Piskor’s eye for detail, both in his research and artistic skill is incredible. You can tell that he has an unbridled love for both hip-hop and comics, and it’s hard to not let that enthusiasm infect you while reading. If that love for the medium carries over to X-Men: Grand Design, Marvel might win back the fans who feel jaded by the last few years of X-Men comics, while drawing in new readers. Piskor an X-Men fan, and chances are he’ll make us fall in love with the students of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters all over again (or maybe even for the first time).

Condensing 280-plus issues into 240-pages may sound like a fool’s errand, but if anyone can do it it’ll be Ed Piskor. Hip Hop Family Tree is evidence enough that he’s the best at what he does – and what he does is very nice.