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I re-borrowed this from my local library recently. I've borrowed it and read it before, but I recently asked my library's ILL department to see about getting Volume 2 (there are apparently 3 volumes of this thing!) because they only have the first volume. So, to catch up with what happened in the first volume, I re-read it. This volume is mostly a re-cap of the X-Men comic storylines from origin to just before Giant-sized X-Men. BUT! It's not really a 're-cap' as much as it is a re-telling that kind-of gets us from point A to point B. The major points are hit (Marvel Girl joins! Professor X dies! Professor X is alive again!), but the details are changed: Xavier worked with Jean Grey a lot before she was introduced to the team, Xavier replaced himself with The Changeling with the team's full knowledge and they had to keep up the ruse after Xavier 'died', Magneto overthrew an island nation before attacking Cape Canaveral, etc. What I especially liked was what Piskor did with the coloring: he had everything tinted slightly yellow, as if it was printed on cheaper 'pulp'-style paper. That way, everything had a tint to it, even things that should be white. This was nifty because he could have things that were whiter than 'white', like a mutant's power manifesting or a large explosion or somesuch (he did the 'whiter-than-white' trick by just not tinting that element). Really creative! After the first volume of the X-men re-telling ended, Marvel included a Piskor-colored Uncanny X-Men #1. It made sense, as a way to show off Piskor's coloring skills as well as because it is an issue that very much fits the theme of Volume 1, but it kind of felt like filler to me personally because I've read Uncanny X-Men #1 enough times to know the story pretty well. The only things different from the numerous prints and re-prints of this issue are the size (X-Men: Grand Design is tabloid-sized) and the colors. The art and lettering and script are all the same. Overall, if you're into X-Men, you'll like it. If you're trying to catch upon the lore, I would recommend looking elsewhere until you've got the gist of the lore down (so as not to confuse yourself). It was well done, though; Piskor is good at coloring and storytelling in equal amounts. | ||