Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!
That’s right, X-MEN Monday, not Venom Monday. In case you missed the joke, last week’s Venom Monday #1 was indeed an April Fool’s joke. With that said, X-Men Senior Editor — and soon-to-be Venom Editor — Jordan D. White’s answers were real. And I saw plenty of folks wondering if some sort of ongoing Venom interview column may be on its way. Well, I don’t have any news for you there, but obviously, AIPT has a good relationship with Jordan, so it’s safe to assume last week won’t be the last time Jordan talks symbiotes with AIPT.
Courtesy of Luciano Vecchio’s X page
But enough about Venom — the epic Resurrection of Magneto mini-series wraps this Wednesday. We already spoke to writer Al Ewing about it this past January. Now it’s artist Luciano Vecchio’s time to discuss his stunning visuals, iconic renditions of Storm and Magneto, and more.
Let’s get started.
AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Luciano! Let’s kick things off with X-Fan Christopher Fokken, who wanted to know what your creative process was for tackling Resurrection of Magneto. Countless design attempts? Creating a mood with music? Walk us through your experience with this amazing book you brought to life.
Luciano: I can safely say it was one of my most fulfilling creative experiences to date, and it was pretty seamless. There wasn’t a lot of design involved, I did some Storm costume trials as a warm-up before even reading the script, but it made more sense to keep the X-Men Red outfit. Magneto gets a tweaked design in the last issue, and I did my personal take on Ashake and the Shadow King, but otherwise, the fun was in drawing designs from across the X-ages in my style.
Courtesy of Luciano Vecchio
As for the process, the writing and drawing was done pretty much simultaneously, so I’d focus on a bunch of pages at a time while Al wrote the following, and so on. My favorite moment is getting a new batch of script, that’s when I go to a coffee shop or a park with my notebook to read and doodle first impressions and thumbnails, and then I do layouts for everyone to approve.
And finally, my regular routine is drawing one page a day (I’m a daytime working person), but not necessarily in the right order. I’ll jump each day to the page that fits my mood better so I can inject as much emotion into it as I can. Maybe it’s a quiet one, maybe it’s an action one, or an iconic shot I can’t wait to draw. And in my free time, I took the chance to read and revisit much of the referred material and Al’s previous work like Defenders Beyond.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
This was also a chance to really spread my wings and show everything I can do as an artist, and I made a conscious effort to level up my game.
AIPT: Well, mission accomplished! I think it’s fair to say Magneto and Storm have transcended comics and become pop culture icons. Throughout Resurrection of Magneto, their stature and strength are on full display. As an artist, are there any specific traits you made a point to get across when illustrating the two of them?
Luciano: This book is in a way an essay on the two characters, at fiction, meta, and even neo-mythical levels. I see Storm as the Goddess Archetype of the Marvel Universe, while Magneto is the ultimate Anti-Hero Journey. It is important to me to study and reflect on everything that made them icons across the decades and also everything that makes them human. Also, paying attention to details like Storm’s hair texture and facial features, or Magneto’s range of emotions expressing his honest contradictions while honoring the iconography created by Jack Kirby, Dave Cockrum, and everyone in between.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: In just three issues, you and Al Ewing have covered a lot of ground. What’s it like collaborating with Al on a project like Resurrection of Magneto?
Luciano: It was a dream collaboration for me. I’ve been a fan of Al’s writing for years, and I was so looking forward to see HOW he writes what he writes. I found a real creative affinity. I think we both love deep-cut continuity, high emotional stakes, and telling stories that resonate at a poetic level. We also share a nerd knowledge of Tarot (at least at the symbology level in my case, I’m not a practitioner).
His script is super inspiring and evocative, he adds layers and layers of information, explaining a symbol or reasoning for a scene with extra data that doesn’t necessarily end up in the art or the text, but informs the artist with story structure. This is a tale with soul and bones. He also provides a lot of visual references and descriptions but not in a micro-managing way. Instead, the script touches and moves you and then it encourages you to interpret it in a personal way. I’d say it was a transformative project for me almost as much as it was for Ororo and Max.
And lastly, some of the final text is decided after my work is done, so I’m getting the full reading experience along with everyone else when it comes out and that’s super fun.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: You mentioned your nerd knowledge of Tarot. X-Fan Griffin said your artwork for Resurrection of Magneto includes a handful of allusions to the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck. Were those all in the script, or were there any you added while drawing the mini-series?
Luciano: All of them were in the script. But I’ve also seen people find unplanned parallels that actually make sense, like the last page of issue 2 matching the Devil card.
The only thing I added that wasn’t in the script was Ashake’s cat familiar, and the way it moves and interacts with Ororo. I saw it in Ashake’s first appearance and had to add it. We love cat content.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: X-Fan Henrique Lima asked, what was the creative process for designing the Waiting Room? Where did you look to for inspiration?
Luciano: It was all in the script! The main reference is the Seven of Cups in the Rider-Waite tarot, with Marvel lore elements replacing the ones in that minor arcana. It is a pretty simple clouds landscape setting, but David Curiel worked his color magic injecting different moods and life into it. I’ll use the chance to emphasize how much his color art elevated my linework in this project and added so much beauty.
AIPT: X-Fan Kalai was curious to learn what the other doors in the Waiting Room page are. Kalai sees Death and Tower, and probably the Living Tribunal, but is there anything you can share about the others?
Luciano: We have the Tower which is the path Storm takes, Death fashioned as the one from Marvel myths, a Wheel of Fortune, a bust of the Living Tribunal, a (trivia alert) soul crystal from Al’s New Avengers run, a metal skull crying blood, and a crystal orb with a somewhat familiar shape in it. All of these and the rainbow-colored suns have a meaning that, as in arcana, are meant to remain subtle (and some elude even me, to be honest). I’ve seen some threads on X by readers analyzing the correlations of esoteric references and paths in the Tree of Life in the version of Kabbalah spread through Western magic systems and pop culture with quite interesting takes. But for our story, I consider these hidden symbols as building blocks and not something you need to decipher to get the tale. The tale is what happens to Storm and Magneto.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: First, X-Fan Ororoswind wanted to thank you so much for the fantastically illustrated three issues. Second, what was your favorite moment or scene to illustrate in the mini-series?
Luciano: Oh, there are so many. All the power displays and villain-vanishing for sure, but also the top two moving ones for me are Storm “healing” Max’s eyes to see the full picture of the consequences of his actions, and in issue 3 when she reaches with her open hand into the darkness knowing Max will be there to take it. Those gave me chills when I got the script, when I drew them, and when I read the finished pages.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: And now for one of those dangerous comic book character age questions. X-Fan Emily said Magneto looks pretty good for a man who must be in his 90s. How old (physically) would you say he is now that he’s been resurrected?
Luciano: Max has gone through many de-aging processes across his decades and was also resurrected at least once in the Krakoan era where the rule is bodies are reincarnated “in their prime,” which I guess is subjective. In the liminal space of the afterlife, we see him as seasoned and worn, as he sees himself. And when he resurrected at the end of issue 3, he came back even younger as per script request, and you’ll notice the contrast in the last issue. In short, I think the right answer is he’s ageless.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Before we wrap, a question about some of your past X-work. X-Fan Joshie20 wanted to know what it’s been like seeing the story and themes for Iceman and the Romeo character development you did in Marvel’s Voices: Iceman continue in the recent Astonishing Iceman mini-series.
Luciano: It was awesome! This is an ever-collaborative medium, and the fact that elements I contributed like the return of Romeo, or Bobby’s costume and logo, were picked up and continued by Steve Orlando and other writers and artists is so fulfilling. I’m honored to be part of that chain of torch-passing that shapes the biography of such a special character like Bobby Drake.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Finally, for X-Fans blown away by your artwork in Resurrection of Magneto, what other work of yours would you recommend they check out?
Luciano: In terms of X-related content, you’ll see me next in the last issue of Rise of Powers of X, which was a huge responsibility and an awesome chance to display some EPIC event-level craziness, you’ll see. And I’m drawing a sequence in X-Men #35/Uncanny X-Men #700. Before that, I’ve been in last year’s X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023, and I’ve written, drawn, and colored the Marvel Voices: Iceman arc on Marvel Unlimited (which is now available to read for free as part of Marvel’s Start Scrolling initiative).
Beyond that, you can check out my previous work on Champions, Ironheart, the Marvel’s Voices specials, Spider-Man and Spider-Verse, and lots of covers.
And later this year, I’m diving into the Venom-Verse with a Black Widow-centric project [Black Widow: Venomous] written by Erica Schultz that I’m having so much fun with.
AIPT: And don’t forget Resurrection of Magneto #4, on sale this Wednesday! (Here’s the preview in case you missed it, X-Fans.)
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
But on that note, thanks for stopping by X-Men Monday, Luciano! It’s been a pleasure to watch your artwork evolve and I can’t wait to see what you do next.
X-Fans, you get one more sneak peek at Resurrection of Magneto #4 in the eXclusive preview images below, courtesy of X-Men Senior Editor Jordan D. White.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Until next time, X-Fans, stay eXceptional!
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
You must be logged in to post a comment.